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We are bombarded with advertisements about auto insurance. Many times, a very important but basic concept about auto insurance gets lost in those advertisements. If you or a member of your family are injured in an accident, auto insurance can help protect you and your family against financial loss. Protecting you should be the focus of auto insurance. Advertising lines like “we keep you legal for less” (Safe Auto) or “save hundreds on auto insurance” redirect your focus mostly on price rather than what’s most important – protecting you and your family. We like saving money as much as the next person but not at the expense of our families. That’s especially true as auto accidents and costs of claims have steadily risen over the last decade. Added to the increased risk are accidents due to cell phones and legalization of marijuana. The question is not if but when you’ll be involved in an accident and need the protection of good insurance. We invite you to read our series of articles on auto insurance. What does it cover and what are legal consequences if you fail to have insurance? Why is uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage the most important and least expensive coverage that you can purchase? What are the practical consequences of electing “limited tort” coverage? What affects your auto insurance rates and how can you purchase better coverage for less? The basics: auto insurance protects you on four fronts: Medical coverage pays for the cost of treating your injuries, rehabilitation and sometimes lost wages and funeral expenses. Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage pays for your financial losses in the event the person causing your injuries is uninsured or has insufficient insurance to cover your losses. The required minimum coverages have not increased in 46 years and are the lowest in the country. This coverage is more important than ever. Liability coverage pays for your legal responsibility to others for bodily injury or property damage. Property coverage pays for damage to or theft of your car. Required and Optional Coverages When you purchase auto insurance, there are certain coverages that are required and others that are optional. The required coverages are: Medical Benefits — This pays medical bills for you and others who are covered by your policy, regardless of fault. The minimum limit is $5,000 of coverage. Higher limits are available if you so choose (and are highly recommended). Bodily Injury Liability — If you injure someone in a car accident, this coverage pays their medical and rehabilitation expenses and any damages for which you are found liable. The minimum limit is $15,000/ $30,000. The $15,000 pays for injuries to one person, while the $30,000 represents the total available for one accident. These minimum coverages have not increased in over 40 years and are not nearly enough to protect your personal assets. Property Damage Liability — If you damage someone’s property in an accident and you are at fault, this coverage pays for it. The minimum limit is $5,000 of coverage. Some companies offer a single limit of $35,000 which meets the bodily injury liability and property damage liability minimum requirements. Limited or Full Tort — You can choose to have “full” or “limited” tort coverage. Limited tort coverage offers you a small savings on your premiums. You are still able to recover all out-of-pocket medical and other expenses; however, you are not able to recover certain damages – such as payments for pain and suffering – unless the injuries meet certain exceptions. With full tort coverage selection, you retain unrestricted rights to be compensated for all of your financial losses. We do not recommend limiting your rights. Further reading: Limited Tort Coverage: not worth the discount In addition, auto insurance policies offer a variety of additional optional coverages that can be purchased. These include: Uninsured Motorist (UM) — This coverage applies to you, your family and your passengers for bodily injury if you are hit by an at-fault uninsured motorist. This does not cover damage to property. Further reading: Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage: the most important and least expensive coverage you can purchase Underinsured Motorist (UIM) — This coverage applies to you, your family and your passengers for bodily injury if you are hit by an at fault motorist who does not have enough insurance to cover your claim. This does not cover damage to property. Stacking of UM or UIM — This coverage allows you to either multiply the amount of uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage by the number of vehicles on your policy or to receive uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage from more than one policy under which you are insured. It costs extra to stack uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. Funeral Benefit — This coverage pays, up to a certain dollar amount, money for funeral expenses if you or a family member dies because of an auto accident. Income Loss — This coverage pays a portion of your lost wages when injuries sustained in an auto accident keep you from working. Collision — This benefit pays to repair damage to your car because of an accident. Most banks or lenders require you to buy this coverage to receive a car loan. Under Pennsylvania law, the insurance company applies a $500 deductible unless you request a lower amount. The higher your deductible, the lower your premium. Comprehensive — Generally, this pays for theft or damage to your car from hazards including fire, flood, vandalism or striking an animal. Most banks or lenders require you to buy this coverage to receive a car loan. There are various levels of deductible that may be purchased. Extraordinary Medical Benefits — This coverage pays for medical and rehabilitation expenses that exceed $100,000. It provides a maximum of $1 million of coverage. Accidental death benefit — This benefit is paid to the personal representative of an insured if the bodily injury from a motor vehicle accident results in death within 24 months of the date of the accident. Rental reimbursement coverage — This pays for an individual’s expenses, up to the limit on their policy, to rent a vehicle if they have a covered comprehensive or collision loss. Towing coverage — This reimburses an individual, up to the limit on their policy, for towing and labor costs for a covered disabled vehicle. This coverage is usually only available if comprehensive and collision is carried on the vehicle. Gap coverage — This will pay the difference between an insurance company’s payment for a totaled vehicle and the balance of a vehicle loan. This coverage is traditionally only available when an individual is purchasing a new vehicle. Understanding Your Auto Insurance Policy Your policy is divided into sections. It details types of coverage, rights and obligations under the policy and exclusions or limitations. Types of coverage may include liability, medical payments, uninsured/underinsured motorist, and coverage for damage to your auto. Declarations Page An insurance policy is a legal contract. Your policy begins with a declarations page. This identifies the policy number and provides important information including the policy term, coverage limits, and information about the insured. It also contains a description of the vehicles covered under the policy. If you received a loan to purchase your car and there is still an outstanding balance, the lender will be listed as “loss payee” on the declarations page. Further reading:  How to Read Your Declarations Page Insuring Agreement Your policy contains a general insuring agreement consisting of a broad statement listing the perils and risks covered under the contract. The insuring agreement also identifies exclusions, which are specific events and circumstances the policy will not cover. It will contain definitions to help make the coverage clear and prevent any misunderstandings. We’d be happy to review your current auto insurance and answer your questions.  We may be able to help you identify cost savings that you can turn into coverage that better protects your family.  You can request the review here. Further reading:  Need Help Navigating Auto Insurance? Next Article:  Legal Consequences of Having No Auto Insurance #autoinsurancecomparison #autoinsurancereview #autoaccidentattorney #autoaccidentattorneyphiladelphia #autoaccidentattorneyerie #autoaccidentattorneychester #accidentcaraccidentcarpersonalinjurycarcrashinjurytowtowlifeaccidentspersonalinjurylawyerroadsideassistanceautocollisionaccidente #autoaccidentattorneyharrisburg #autoinsurancequotes #autoinsurance #autoaccidentattorneypittsburgh #autoaccident

Free Paycheck Protection Loan Forgiveness Tool Available If applying to have your Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiven seems intimidating, you are not alone. Maybe the thought of the paperwork has prevented you from even applying for a PPP loan. Well we have good news: help has arrived. A new online tool can simplify the process—and its free. Any business that took out a PPP loan can use the tool for free, regardless of whether they worked with a bank or a non-bank lender. The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and CPA.com released the platform this week, which is powered by software from small business lender Biz2Credit. PPPForgivenesstool.com is a free resource to assist small business owners in automating the loan forgiveness application process for their PPP funding. Business owners, and their accountants, can use this tool to fill out their PPP forgiveness application online, receive an automatic forgiveness eligibility calculation and be provided with all the government-mandated forms needed to submit for lender forgiveness. The SBA rules provide that it is the borrower’s responsibility to provide an accurate calculation of the loan forgiveness amount. Lenders are expected to perform a good-faith review, in a reasonable time, of the borrower’s calculations and supporting documents, but lenders do not have to independently verify the borrower’s reported information provided that the borrower: Supplies documentation supporting its request, and Attests that it has accurately verified the payments for eligible costs. Early loan forgiveness applications Many small businesses have inquired about whether they can apply for PPP loan forgiveness before their covered period expires. Businesses can apply for loan forgiveness now, but it may cost them money. We recommend that businesses wait before applying for loan forgiveness. The interim final rule issued in June says that if a borrower applies for loan forgiveness before the end of the covered period and has reduced any employees’ salaries or wages by more than the 25% allowed for full forgiveness, the borrower must account for the excess salary reduction for the full eight-week or 24-week covered period, whichever one applies to its loan. Under that guidance, PPP borrowers that apply early for loan forgiveness forfeit a safe-harbor provision allowing them to restore salaries or wages by Dec. 31 and avoid reductions in the loan forgiveness they receive. For example, if a borrower has a 24-week period that ends in November but wants to apply in September, any wage reduction in excess of 25% as of September would be calculated for the entire 24-week period even if the borrower restores salaries by Dec. 31. As always, our attorneys are here to help and answer any questions about all SBA loans, including the PPP loan program.  If you have not applied for a loan, we highly recommend that you consider doing so.  We’ve debunked many myths about the program.  There are still lenders accepting applications #smallbusinesstips #paycheckprotection #loanforgiveness #smallbusinessattorney #paycheckprotectionloan #smallbusinessadvice

Your business will be more successful if you facilitate access to legal advice for your self and for your employees. Each of your employees has 2-3 unsolved legal problems at any time. These unresolved problems lead to absenteeism, reduced productivity and poor customer service. By helping your employees get connect to solutions to these problems, you will help your business. Learn how to solve this problem and better retain good employees in this video. #smallbusinesstips #llcpennsylvania #businesslegal #businesstips #businesslegaladvice #growsmallbusiness #businessconsultant #llcformation #smallbusinessadvice #smallbusiness #businessconsulting #llcpittsburgh

#1 There’s no point in applying A PPP loan is worth applying for. Calling it a loan is misleading. If done correctly, it’s a grant – you won’t have to pay it back. So why not apply? While it’s true that overwhelming demand has slowed down some banks’ approval processes, that doesn’t mean you should give up on PPP. In fact, it’s now easier than ever to apply. The SBA is working with financial technology (fintech) companies to make PPP applications more available en masse. You can apply for PPP online through one of these companies, without ever having to leave your home. And you don’t need to worry about your application falling through the cracks. If you have already applied for PPP through a bank but haven’t heard back, you can apply again through a different institution. Further Reading: Fintech lenders still accepting PPP Loan applications. #2 Every business is eligible Yes and no. If you were not in business before February 15 of this year, your business is not eligible. Even if your business existed before February 15, if your business did not have income and was not paying employees or making distributions to you as sole owner, you will not be able to obtain a PPP loan. This is because the PPP is intended to help businesses sustain continued payment of wages and other business expenses for eligible businesses. The loan application requires submission of past expenses to support the amount requested. If you have no prior income or expenses, then there will be nothing upon which to base your application. #3 I can only get the PPP if I have employees Business entitles that have no employees on payroll are indeed not eligible for the PPP. However, self-employed individuals, such as independent contractors and sole proprietors, can apply for the PPP, even if they don’t have anyone else on payroll. The term “Paycheck Protection Program” is misleading, in this case. You don’t need to write paychecks to get covered. When you apply, your loan amount—and forgiveness—will be based on your 2019 net income, as reported on Schedule C of your tax return. This is known as the “owner compensation replacement”. #4 I can get the PPP and claim Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds Unfortunately, you cannot get a PPP loan and get unemployment benefits at the same time. The PPP, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, and unemployment benefits are all considered sources of income. Although it can be tempting to claim funds from all the relief programs, it is not allowed, and you could face consequences. For self-employed individuals who have received a PPP loan and are claiming their eight-weeks’ worth of 2019 net profit as Owner Compensation Replacement (OCR), you are considered to be fully covered for the eight-week coverage period and you would not qualify for additional unemployment benefits or PUA. This applies as well to those using a 24-week covered period. But since it appears that you need to claim 10 weeks’ worth of net profit over 24 weeks, you may be eligible for partial unemployment benefits. If you’re already registered with your state’s unemployment benefit department, you will need to report your PPP loan as income. Check with your state’s labor department for specific details. After your coverage period ends, you can begin collecting full unemployment benefits again. #5 I can use the PPP loan funds like a low-interest loan Not exactly. The PPP was designed to ensure paychecks would not be impacted by the COVID-19 economic slowdown. If you have employees, your PPP loan is to be used to maintain their pay and rehire anyone who had to be laid off. It’s not meant to be used for working capital —the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) program is a better fit for that. When you apply for a PPP loan, you must agree to spend the funds on certain things. In particular, to retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments. The PPP rules prohibit using the funds on any other general business expenses. It cannot be used like a garden-variety business loan. #6 The SBA will change the rules so nobody will be able to get the loan forgiven The SBA has changed the PPP rules many times. With updated guidance being continuously released and revised by the SBA and Treasury, it’s understandable that small business owners may be hesitant to take on a loan and keep a liability on their balance sheet. In recent weeks, government officials have been working on several bipartisan initiatives to provide greater flexibility with the PPP program. We expect the forgiveness process to be simplified and streamlined as time goes on, not made more restrictive. As an example, the recent Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act extended PPP loan periods from 8 weeks to 24 weeks, giving businesses more time to spend their funds. Further Reading: New EZ PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Available #7 You can only receive one SBA loan at a time, so PPP applicants must rescind other SBA loan applications. Borrowers may apply for a PPP loan and other SBA financial assistance, including disaster loans and Section 7(a) loans. However, you cannot use PPP loan proceeds for the same purpose as your other SBA loan(s). Loan proceeds need to cover payroll for a different period or other qualifying costs. This includes the up to $10,000 grant available with EIDL loans. #8 PPP could harm my credit score or trigger an audit PPP does not require a credit check, so applying won’t harm your score. Also, while the rules may eventually change, for now, the government is saying they won’t audit anyone who gets a PPP loan of less than $2 million. As always, our attorneys are here to help and answer any questions about all SBA loans, including the PPP loan program. #eligiblepaycheckprotection #paycheckprotection #PPPLoan #eligiblebusinesspaycheckprotection #ppploanmyths #paycheckprotectionloan #qualifypaycheckprotection

Protecting your personal assets from business liabilities is a key concern for many business owners. This video will identify the three main business liabilities that can put your assets at risk, and tell you how to better protect yourself. #businessattorneypittsburgh #assetprotectionstrategies #liabilityprotectionbusiness #protectpersonalassets #smallbusinessattorney #businessattorneypennsylvania #businessriskmanagement #assetprotectionbeforelawsuit #bestbusinessstructureassetprotection #businessattorney #assetprotection

With the coronavirus pandemic sending millions of Americans scrambling to make ends meet, another type of economic fallout is bubbling in the background: consumers’ worsening credit status due to late or unpaid bills. But making a bad situation worse, some credit scores are being mistakenly dinged by the very lenders that, thanks to the protections of the CARES Act passed in March, are supposed to be providing payment relief. The law lets you postpone payments on federally backed mortgages for up to a year, suspends all payments on federal student loans through Sept. 30, and—supposedly—ensures that your credit isn’t negatively affected if you take advantage of these provisions. But reports of people whose credit scores are nonetheless wrongly being harmed keep piling up. Consumers are saying that their credit scores dropped when they accepted—and in some cases merely inquired about—COVID-19-related mortgage forbearance, a direct violation of the coronavirus relief law. In addition, some consumers mistakenly believe that there is a general moratorium on all negative credit reporting during COVID – that’s not the case. You may wonder if these problems merit your attention right now. Incorrect credit scores can have serious long-term effects on your ability to weather the COVID crisis and rebuild your financial health after the worst has passed. The inability to access credit is can make it difficult for you to dig out of this financial crisis. And some lenders are already tightening the flow of credit by closing credit card accounts, lowering credit limits, and slowing or stopping the processing of applications for refinancing, home equity lines of credit, and mortgages. Credit report blemishes, which typically stay on your file for seven years, can even affect your ability to get a job, rent an apartment, your auto insurance rates or secure certain types of insurance. Here’s what you need to do. Talk to All Your Lenders Right Away That means even before checking your credit reports, because the best way to keep your report clean is to prevent negative information from landing there in the first place. The credit protections of the CARES Act apply to “accommodation” agreements with any creditor to defer, decrease, or modify any consumer debt, not just the ones in categories required by the law, such as federally backed mortgages and student loans. That means your credit reports should not be blemished if you persuade a lender to postpone payments on your auto loan or credit card debt as well as a nongovernment-backed mortgage and student loans. And many lenders across the spectrum have been encouraged by federal regulators to agree to such accommodations. But you must reach out: The law provides no credit protection if you’re late paying your debts and don’t get an accommodation, in which case your credit reports will probably reflect a delinquent account regardless of why you were unable to pay. And make sure to call them all, even if the balance due is relatively small. Even a single account that’s more than 30 days past due can reduce your credit score by up to 100 points. Get Your Credit Reports With credit reporting problems exacerbated by the pandemic, the three major credit reporting agencies— Experian, TransUnion and Equifax—are letting people check their reports free on a weekly basis, at least until April 2021, at annualcreditreport.com. Pulling reports online from all three agencies typically takes 10 or 15 minutes. If your financial situation has taken a hit because of COVID-19 and you agreed to a forbearance or a deferral on a loan, check your reports monthly for a while. That’s how often lenders usually upload data to the credit reporting agencies. Scrutinize Them for Errors Even in ordinary times, credit reports are rife with error. According to a 2013 FTC report, 1 in 5 reports contained a verified error and that 1 in 20 had an error significant enough to cause credit to be denied or offered at a higher cost. And complaints about credit agencies now represent 38 percent of all complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, more than any other category. Here are the errors to especially watch out for, followed by tips on how to dispute them. Mixed files. These common errors occur when an account or debt belonging to one consumer is incorrectly attributed to another person, possibly with the same name or a similar one. To spot these errors, look for information about a loan or debt that doesn’t belong to you. Out-of-date information. Make sure closed accounts, with credit cards for example, aren’t listed as open in your credit reports. And if you had a credit problem that was resolved, make sure it disappears from your report after seven years, as it’s supposed to. Sometimes these passed delinquencies are incorrectly “re-aged,” thereby restarting the period during which the negative information stays on your report. An incorrect change in status. If your creditors agreed to let you defer payments, the coronavirus aid package explicitly says your credit status should freeze at the time you accepted the accommodation. So, if an account was current at that point, it should still be reported as current. If you were already behind when your payments were postponed, your status should be no worse than it was before. But it can be better: If you manage to catch up on your payments during the accommodation period, you should be reported as current on that debt. Mortgage loan errors. An emerging problem concerns mortgage lenders that have been using “special comment codes” to explain the status of accounts in their reporting to the credit agencies. Under ordinary circumstances, lenders use an “AW” code to indicate that a borrower has been affected by a natural or declared disaster, “CP” for a disaster-related forbearance, and “D” when account payments have been deferred. But the CARES Act doesn’t specify how—or even whether—mortgage lenders should use these codes for COVID-19-related accommodations. As a result, they’ve been used inconsistently or erroneously. If you haven’t accepted an accommodation, insist that any coding used by your lender be removed. If you did agree to a forbearance and the lender insists on coding, ask for the AW code. Student loan errors. Coding errors have also had an impact on consumers who have federal student loans. In addition to suspending all payments for these loans through Sept. 30, 2020, the relief law specifies that a suspended payment should be treated by credit reporting agencies “as if it were a regularly scheduled payment made by a borrower.” If your servicer reported your account as having been “deferred,” that may cause your credit score to decline. If you have outstanding federal student loans, experts recommend making sure that your credit reports don’t show a deferment on those accounts and that your credit score wasn’t affected. #creditreportcovid #creditreportcovid19 #covidcredit #covidcreditscore #covidcreditrepair

New EZ PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Available In an effort to encourage more businesses to sign up and to alleviate concerns about being able to get the loans forgiven for businesses like restaurants that haven’t been able to open to customers, Congress provided more flexibility by passing the Paycheck Protection Program Forgiveness Act earlier this month. It extends the covered period (the period during which borrowers are required to spend their PPP loan funds) from eight weeks to 24 weeks. It also amends the requirement that no more than 25% of the loan forgiveness amount be spent non-payroll costs (such as rent, loan interest, utilities, etc.) and allows up to 40% to be used for non-payroll costs. The bill also included several other changes, such as extending the deferral of payments of loan principal, interest and fees, from the current six months, until the date when the SBA pays the forgiveness amount to the lender. The SBA has published a new loan forgiveness application that reflects these changes. Along with revising the full forgiveness application, the SBA is also introducing a new EZ version of the forgiveness application that applies to borrowers who: Are self-employed and have no employees; or Did not reduce the salaries or wages of their employees by more than 25%, and didn’t reduce the number or hours of their employees; or Experienced reductions in business activity as a result of health directives related to COVID-19, and did not reduce the salaries or wages of their employees by more than 25%. The EZ application requires fewer calculations to be done and less documentation is needed for eligible borrowers. Details about the applicability of the various provisions are available in the instructions accompanying the new EZ application form. Both applications give borrowers the option of using the original eight-week covered period (if their loan was made before June 5, 2020) or the extended 24-week covered period provided under the new law. The SBA and US Treasury said the changes would result in a more efficient process and make it easier for businesses to realize full forgiveness of their PPP loan. #loanforgiveness #paycheckprotection #PPPLoan

PPP Loan Rules Change (Again) After the news of so many public companies getting Paycheck Protection Program loans that didn’t need them, the SBA announced new “needs based” loan standards. The SBA stated that only companies that had a financial need for the loan were eligible for funding. It suggested that companies failing to meet these standards would be deemed to have NOT certified their need “in good faith” and might be subjected to penalty. The SBA did not provide much in the way of guidance for companies to determine if they were truly “in need” or not. These new standards differed significantly from previous loan standards and guidance. In addition, the SBA suggested that businesses that already had received (and probably spent) loan money pay it back within two weeks in order to avoid penalties. The net effect of these announcements was to scare the heck out of businesses that had already received and spent some of the loan funds. You may have even received a scary letter like this one from your PPP Loan lender. Without specific guidance, business owners were left to guess whether they were “in need” and could not only obtain loan forgiveness but also avoid penalties from the government. Just what businesses struggling during the COVID pandemic needed — something else to worry about. Yesterday morning, the SBA issued new guidance: “How will SBA review borrowers’ required good-faith certification concerning the necessity of their loan request?” The answer depends on the size of the loan. For borrowers of less than $2 million the answer to FAQ #46 states (emphasis added): “Any borrower that, together with its affiliates, received PPP loans with an original principal amount of less than $2 million will be deemed to have made the required certification concerning the necessity of the loan request in good faith.” In other words, loans of less than $2 million are deemed to be “necessary to support the ongoing operations” of the business as the certification required. We interpret this answer to mean recipients of loans less than $2 million do not need to return their loans because of concerns regarding their certification. For businesses with a loan in excess of $2 million, the SBA will keep you on tender-hooks. Unless the SBA issues additional guidance, you’ll have to hope that you can provide an “adequate basis” for your certification of need. The news isn’t all bad though. The SBA did remove the scare of penalties. If it is determined that there was no adequate basis for the need, the consequence is simply no loan forgiveness. As long as the business can repay the loan, there will not likely be a penalty. #loanforgiveness #paycheckprotection #PPPLoan #sbaloan

LegalShield Referral Firm Appointed Lead Counsel in Zantac Litigation We congratulate our long time referral attorney partners at the Philadelphia law firm of Anapol Weiss. U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg of the Southern District of Florida appointed the Anapol Weiss firm as co-lead counsel to spearhead the hundreds of lawsuits filed over heartburn medication Zantac. If you are currently taking Zantac, you should discuss the potential risks with your health care provider. You may be entitled to monetary damages. Contact us for a consultation about your situation. The lawsuits, both individual cases alleging personal injuries and class actions brought for economic damages, allege that the companies that made and sold Zantac knew its active ingredient, ranitidine, metabolized in the human body to form a carcinogen known as N-nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA. The lawsuits follow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s investigation of NDMA in some blood pressure and heart failure medicines. Last month, the FDA announced it was requesting manufacturers to withdraw all prescription and over-the-counter Zantac from the market, citing concerns about potential carcinogens. Sanofi-Aventis U.S., based in New Jersey, which recalled over-the-counter Zantac last year, is one of several defendants in the cases. Others are GlaxoSmithKline, with a U.S. unit based in Philadelphia, which first received FDA approval to sell the drug and recalled prescription Zantac last year, and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., which has U.S. headquarters in Connecticut, and New York’s Pfizer Inc. They both sold Zantac. #zantac #zantaclawyer #zantacrecall #Zantaclawsuit

Everyone’s good buddy, the IRS, did struggling small businesses dirty when no one was watching. Paycheck Protection Program loans were designed to help small business that were reeling with the COVID tsunami. The basics of the program were fairly straight forward: spend the money mostly on payroll to take care of your employees and the loan will be forgiven. It was a lifeline to small businesses when they needed it most. I applied and helped other clients apply as well. But now the IRS is tugging that Paycheck Protection lifeline away. On April 30 – in the dark of the evening when nobody was paying attention – the IRS changed the rules. It eliminated much of the benefit of the Paycheck Protection Program loans. The new rules: businesses that receive Paycheck Protection Program loans may not receive tax deductions for using those funds to pay expenses like payroll and rent. No deduction for doing exactly what the PPP loan rules told businesses to do. Congress specifically drafted the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act so that small businesses could receive the loans, spend the money, earn loan forgiveness and not have them count as taxable income. Business owners already feel that the Paycheck Protection loans have too many strings attached. The rules also are continually changing causing borrowers to worry that their loans will not be forgiven. The IRS’ move seems to be totally inconsistent with what Congress intended. Here’s how the IRS taketh away from struggling businesses: Say a business receives a $300,000 loan to cover payroll for eight weeks. If the business cannot deduct that amount as expenses, that means its federal tax burden bites at a rate of 37%. That equates to a $111,000 increase in taxable income. It reduces the tax-free benefit of the loan to $189,000 intended by Congress. Thanks IRS – you never disappoint! We do not this is how Congress intended the Paycheck Protection Program loan to work. We encourage you to call your federal representatives, senators and the Small Business Administration. Call your local news station and tell them how this change is going to make things even worse for your business. Hopefully with enough pressure, the IRS will back down, or Congress will pass legislation restoring the deductions. A group of Congressmen have already sent a letter to the IRS. You can echo their sentiments in your calls and letters to Congress. If you have questions about the ever-changing rules relating to Paycheck Protection loans and how to get loan forgiveness, we can help. #loanforgiveness #paycheckprotection #paycheckprotectionprogram #sbaloan

Jim Gladys, Esquire Our “Deeper Dive” series features our attorneys who primarily focus on providing services to LegalShield members and clients every day.  Attorney James J. Gladys has been with our firm since May 1, 2015.  Before joining us, he owed his own law firm that advised local boroughs and townships. Q: How do you connect to LegalShield members? Attorney Gladys: I understand that when a client contacts us, they are facing a problem and are often anxious and under stress about it. I recognize that those feelings are very important to the client, often as much as helping them find a solution to their problem. I believe in the “Golden Rule”: treat others as you would want to be treated. While I try to help solve their problem, I try to help them to understand what is happening and why. I sometimes use humor to make their day and life better. Q: How do you bring value to your clients? Attorney Gladys: I bring value to my clients by having a broad knowledge of many substantive areas and years of courtroom experience. I have been to the “rodeo” more than once. What I like best about working with my clients is that it allows me to do what I’ve always believed a lawyer should do: trying to help the people that I encounter. I also enjoy problem solving. The members of LegalShield give me an ongoing supply of interesting problems that I can help with. Q: Tell us about a recent success for a LegalShield member. Attorney Gladys: Sometimes – more often that folks might imagine – what should be a simple legal matter turns into something unexpectedly complex. Recently, I had the pleasure of assisting two clients who were recent arrivals in the USA with real estate transactions. In both cases, their deals are in turmoil. They did not understand what is happening or why. The legal documents were long and filled with terms they did not understand. They felt like they are getting steamrolled by the other persons and the real estate agents involved. In both cases, I was been able to explain the process for them to an understandable level and given them the tools (I sometimes refer to as “magic words”) to fight back. The other parties and the real estate agents, who I believe were trying to deal with these members unfairly, were not expecting any push back given the clients’ backgrounds. There is a good chance that the deals will go through or that the members may settle on favorable terms if not. Q: My greatest accomplishments: Attorney Gladys: My two daughters Q: The best advice I have received Attorney Gladys: I heard this at a commencement ceremony from the president of the university: “Never lie, never tell the whole truth, never pass up a chance to go to the bathroom.” -My attitude towards life is that life is a journey, not a destination -The best ideas come from being in the shower #legalshieldpennsylvania #municipallaw #legalshield #zoninglawyer #zoninglawyerpittsburgh #municipallawyer #jimgladys #zoninglawyerpa

We can help you apply for your PPP Loan Businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans are getting a break pertaining to laid off employees. For purpose of loan forgiveness calculations, borrowers can exclude laid-off employees if the employees turn down a written offer to be rehired, according to new guidance from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The loans can be forgivable — meaning they won’t necessarily have to be paid back. But there are conditions on forgiveness. One big one: 75% of the forgiven amount must be spent on payroll. And the rest can only be spent on a few categories: rent, mortgage interest or utilities. But with many businesses unable to reopen, owners wonder how to spend that much on payroll when they have little or no work for their employees to do. In addition those problems, some employees have been turning down offers to be rehired for the same jobs for a variety of reasons, one of them being that they are making more money in unemployment benefits and pandemic unemployment assistance than they do in pay at their jobs because the CARES Act temporarily provides an additional $600 per week to people who have been approved by their state for unemployment insurance. The guidance was included among three new questions the SBA added over the weekend to a PPP frequently asked questions (FAQ) file it maintains in consultation with IRS. The SBA and Treasury plan to issue a new rule specifying that a borrower may exclude an employee from loan forgiveness calculations if the borrower made a good-faith, written offer of rehire and also documented the employee’s rejection of that offer. The guidance does not specify what form that documentation should take. Businesses are encouraged to issue return to work requests in writing to their employees along with proof of mailing. These should be retained as records to be provided when loan forgiveness is sought. There are many issues to consider for businesses preparing to reopen. Employees may refuse to return to work for a variety of reasons. Employers need to understand how to respond to employee reactions. My firm is here to help business owners navigate the complex issue of reopening their businesses. #sbaloan #businessattorneypennsylvania #loanforgiveness #PaycheckProtectionLoan #PPPloan #businessattorneypittsburgh #sbaloan #smallbusiness #paycheckprotection