Solar power has surged in popularity over the past few years, thanks in part to the rise in energy prices combined with increased public awareness around climate change and environmental issues. Not only is solar power good for the environment but switching to solar power offers some very attractive financial benefits.

Solar Power Costs Prohibitively High a Decade Ago

When photovoltaic systems were first introduced, the high cost made it virtually impossible to justify an investment in solar power, especially for homeowners and small-to-medium business owners. Back in 2010, the average cost of a kilowatt-hour of solar energy was 38 cents. By comparison, the average retail electricity price nationwide was 9.82 cents per kilowatt-hour, or about one-quarter the cost of solar energy.

Given the cost difference between conventional, grid-based power and solar power, it’s easy to see why transitioning to solar power simply didn’t make sense for most homes and businesses.

Solar More Affordable Than Ever

Thankfully, the gap between the cost of a solar photovoltaic system and the cost of grid-based electricity has shrunk over the past few years, thanks in part to the numerous government incentives for those who opt to ‘go green’.

There are now a number of property tax credits available to home and business owners who opt to use alternative energy sources, including solar. These credits often cover a wide range of energy-efficient systems and devices including geothermal, or ground source, heat pumps that provide both heating and cooling. Small wind turbines, solar water heaters, solar air heaters and fuel cells can also qualify for tax savings, making the overall cost of using solar power and other alternative energy sources much more affordable than they had been.

Global Solar PV Prices Plummet

According to Our World in Data, a global research organization affiliated with the University of Oxford, the average global price per watt of power generated by a solar PV panel in 1976 was a staggering $106.09 USD. By 1990, that price dropped to $8.81, and as of 2019, the cost of one watt of solar-generated power was just $0.38.

Solar Installations Add Value to Properties

Not only has the overall cost per kilowatt-hour for solar power fallen, but demand for properties with solar photovoltaic systems has steadily risen. In many major real estate markets, buyers are willing to pay a sizable premium for homes that already have a solar system installed, and that’s a trend that’s predicted to continue well into the next decade.

What Small Businesses Need to Know About the New Pandemic Relief Package – Changes to PPP and More

As part of an end-of-year pandemic relief package, Congress has passed several changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and created a “Second Draw” PPP for small businesses who have exhausted their initial loan. Other changes impact eligibility for initial PPP loans, the loan forgiveness process, and the tax treatment of PPP loans.

Congress has also made changes to other programs – including Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL Program), the Employee Retention Tax Credit, a Venue Grant program, and SBA loan programs –that will benefit small businesses. Here’s everything small business owners need to know now:

Contents:

How Do These Changes Impact My Existing PPP Loan? 

I Exhausted My Initial PPP Loan, How Does This Help Me? 

What If I Never Received a PPP Loan? 

Which Changes to Other Programs That May Help My Small Business Have Been Changed? 

• Expanded Employee Retention Tax Credit 
• EIDL Grants 
• Grants for Shuttered Venue Operators 
• SBA Loan Debt Forgiveness 

1. How Do New Changes Impact My Existing PPP Loan?

Tax Treatment: The new law overturns the IRS ruling and provides that regular business expenses paid for with PPP loan proceeds shall be deductible for tax purposes (applies to past and future loans).

Expanded List of Expenses Qualifying for Forgiveness: The list of expenses that PPP funds can be used for that qualify for loan forgiveness has been expanded to include:

“operations expenses” defined as payments for business software and cloud computing services and other human resources and accounting needs that facilitate business operations;

“supplier costs” defined as payments to a supplier for goods that are essential to the operations of the borrower pursuant to a contract or purchase order in effect before the PPP loan is disbursed or with respect to perishable goods, in effect at any time;

“worker protection expenses” defined as operating or capital expenditures to comply with public health guidance related to COVID-19, including things like drive-through windows and sneeze guards and the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE); and

“covered property damage costs” defined as costs related to property damage or looting due to public disturbances in 2020 that are not covered by insurance or other compensation.

Remember: It is still the case that not more than 40% of the forgiven amount can be for non-payroll costs, which may limit how much of your loan can be forgiven. 

Loan Forgiveness Reduction: If you also received an EIDL grant, your PPP loan forgiveness will no longer be reduced by the amount of the grant.

Loan Forgiveness Period: The period for which expenses count toward loan forgiveness will begin on the date of loan origination and end on a date of your choosing that is between 8 and 24 weeks after origination.

Simplified Application: If your loan was for less than $150,000, there will be a simplified one-page application process for loan forgiveness. (top)

2. I Exhausted My Initial PPP Loan, How Does This Help Me?

The brand new “Second Draw” program is for small businesses, non-profits, sole proprietors, and independent contractors who have exhausted their initial PPP loan. The program will make new loans through March 31, 2021 or until the new funding is exhausted.

Eligibility: You are eligible for a second draw loan if you have exhausted your first PPP loan and

(1) you have less than 300 employees, and

(2) you have experienced a greater than 25% reduction in gross receipts during the first, second, third, or fourth quarter in 2020 relative to the same quarter in 2019.

Entities with significant ties to China are ineligible for a second draw loan.

Loan Amount: The maximum loan amount is the average monthly payroll costs for the entity during the 12 months prior to the loan or, at the election of the borrower, 2019 multiplied by 2.5 (or 3.5 for employers in the accommodation and food service industry).

Seasonal employers utilize average monthly payroll costs for a 12-week period between February 15, 2019 and February 15, 2020.

A loan may not exceed $2 million.

Loan Forgiveness: The amount of loan that can be forgiven is the lesser of:

1. Costs incurred or expenditures made between the date of the origination of the loan and ending on a date of your choosing that is between 8 and 24 weeks after origination for: (a) payroll costs, (b) qualifying mortgage interest or rent obligations, (c) covered utility costs, (d) covered operations costs, (e) covered property damage, (f) covered supplier costs, and (g) covered worker protection expenditures; or
2. Payroll costs for the same period divided by 0.60 (this serves as a cap on the total loan forgiveness to ensure that at least 60% of the total amount forgiven is for payroll costs).

Like original PPP loans, the amount of loan forgiveness can be reduced if the borrower has (1) reduced the number of employees or (2) employee salaries by more than 25%. However, the same safe harbors that apply to original PPP loans apply to Second Draw loans. Learn more about these Safe Harbors in our Guide for PPP Loan Forgiveness.

Set-Asides: $25 billion is set aside for employers with 10 or fewer employees or for loans less than $250,000 for entities located in a low-income neighborhood. (top)

3. What If I Never Received a PPP Loan?

For new PPP applicants, the loan process will largely remain the same (check out our original PPP Guide) with a few major changes:

• The PPP program is open through March 31, 2021 or until the new funding is exhausted.
• If you are a 501(c)(6), a local news media organization, or a housing cooperative you may be newly eligible for a loan.
• You may qualify even if you took advantage of the Employee Retention Tax Credit.
• If you are a publicly traded company, you are now prohibited from receiving a loan.
• The maximum loan amount is now $2 million (was $10 million).
• Group insurance payment can be included in your payroll costs when determining your maximum loan amount (see Step 3 in our original Guide).
• If you are a seasonal employer, you have greater flexibility in picking the 12-week period between February 15, 2019 and February 15, 2020 used to determine your payroll costs and thus your maximum loan amount.

New borrowers have until the end of the covered period of their loan (up to 24 weeks after origination) to restore a reduction in their number of employees or reduced wages in order to avoid having their loan forgiveness reduced.  Note: The safe harbors for when an employer cannot find qualified employees or where complying with COVID related safety measurers prevents a return to February 2020 levels of business activity and staffing remain in effect. Learn more in our Guide for PPP Loan Forgiveness. 

Set-Asides: $35 billion is set-aside for first time borrowers and $15 billion is set aside for employers with 10 or fewer employees or for loans less than $250,000 for entities located in a low-income neighborhood.

Remember: The other changes regarding eligible uses of PPP funds and loan forgiveness discussed above will also apply to your new loan. (top)

4. Which Other Programs That May Help My Small Business Have Been Changed or Updated?

Expanded Employee Retention Tax Credit: The new law significantly expands the employee retention tax credit beginning on January 1, 2021. The credit expires on June 30, 2021. The prior credit was 50% on $10,000 in qualified wages for the whole year (or a maximum of $5,000 per employee). The new credit is 70% on $10,000 in wages per quarter (or a maximum $14,000 per employee through June 30th).

The new law also expands which employers are eligible. Prior to the new law, the employee retention tax credit applied only to an employer who experienced a decline in gross receipts of more than 50% in a quarter compared to the same quarter in 2019. Eligibility is now expanded to include employers who experienced a decline of more than 20%.

In addition, the employee cap under which it is easier to claim the tax credit has been raised to 500 employees from 100 employees. Now, employers with 500 or fewer employees can claim the credit for wages to paid to employees irrespective of whether the employee is providing services.

Employers can now also receive both the Employee Retention Tax Credit and a PPP loan, just not to cover the same payroll expenses.

Remember: This is a refundable tax credit. See the Chamber’s original Guide to the ERTC for more information.  

EIDL Grants: The new law reopens the $10,000 EIDL Grant program. Priority for the full amount of the EIDL grant will be given to small businesses with less than 300 employees, located in low-income neighborhoods, who have experienced a 30% reduction in gross receipts during any 8-week period between March 2, and December 31, 2020 compared to a comparable 8-week period before March 2. If you meet this description and received a grant that is less than $10,000 you can reapply to receive the difference.

Grants for Shuttered Venue Operators: The law creates a new $15 billion grant program for eligible live venue operators or promoters, theatrical producers, live performing arts organization operators, museum operators, motion picture theatre operators, or talent representatives that have experienced at least a 25% drop in revenue.

Grants are equal to the lesser of $10 million or 45% of gross earned revenue in 2019. Grants must be used for specified expenses such as payroll costs, rent, utilities, and personal protective equipment.

If you receive a grant you may not apply for a new PPP loan.

SBA Loan Debt Forgiveness: The new law resumes the government payment of monthly principal and interest on small business loans guaranteed by the SBA under the 7(a), 504, and Microloan programs. Borrowers with loans approved by the SBA prior to the CARES Act will receive an additional three months of payments beginning in February of 2021. Those payments will be capped at $9,000 per borrower per month.

After that, certain borrower will receive an additional five months of payments, including: borrowers with SBA microloans or 7(a) Community Advantage loans or borrowers with any 7(a) or 504 loan in hard hit sectors: educational services; arts, entertainment and recreation; food service and accommodation; support activities for mining, and oil and gas extraction; apparel manufacturing; clothing and clothing accessories stores; sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores; air transportation; transit and ground passenger transportation; scenic and sightseeing transportation; publishing industries; motion picture and sound recording; broadcasting; rental and leasing services; and personal and laundry services.

New SBA loans made or approved between December 22, 2020 and September 30, 2021 will receive six months of government payment of principal and interest, also capped at $9,000 per month. (top)

Discover more resources and funding sources to help your small business on our Save Small Business Resources Center.

Article Source: State House News Service
Article By: Matt Murphy

The Beginning of the End

DEC. 18, 2020…..One step forward, two steps back.

Or in the case of Speaker Bob DeLeo, one foot out the door.

The week before Christmas began with a COVID-19 vaccine arriving at Massachusetts hospitals in a cloud of dry ice and 96-year-old World War II veteran Margaret Klessens becoming the first resident of a Veterans Affairs facility in the country to roll up her sweater and get the shot.

And it will end with House speeding toward an historic transition of power, as the longest serving speaker in that institution’s history prepares to depart for what he hopes will be a job at his alma mater, Northeastern University.

If and when DeLeo ends his 30-year legislative career, Majority Leader Ron Mariano appears poised to walk through the door and claim the speaker’s chair. But Rep. Russell Holmes made clear Friday he will have his say before that happens.

The first recipients of the Pfizer vaccine – in keeping with Gov. Charlie Baker’s vaccination plan — were mostly frontline health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities, like the VA community living center in Bedford where Klessens resides. That included Rep. Jon Santiago, an ER doctor just back from a military deployment to the Middle East.

But even as the vaccine seemed to put the end of the pandemic within sight, COVID-19 cases continued to pile up at an average rate of roughly 4,500 a day and the new business restrictions put in place by Baker weren’t enough for some cities and towns.

Baker last week announced that beginning this past Sunday the state would take a step backward in its reopening, meaning indoor entertainment venues, roller rinks and some other types of businesses would have to close and all others would face tighter capacity limits.

That didn’t go far enough for some, however, and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh got the ball rolling on a more regional lockdown by announcing that in the state’s largest city gyms, movie theaters, museums and other large indoor gathering spaces would also be forced to close again.

Boston’s lead was quickly followed by Brockton, Lynn, Newton, Somerville and Arlington. Instead of Phase 3, Step 1, the mayors were taking their cities to Phase 2, Step 2 and in doing so created a patchwork of rules and restrictions in Greater Boston as the pandemic worsens before it gets better.

The severity of the public health crisis was not lost on Baker, despite critics faulting the governor for not taking the state into a broader economic lockdown in order to try to get control of the virus.

Baker on Tuesday pleaded with residents to sacrifice one Christmas with their families this year so that more families will be together next year.

Baker made a similar request before Thanksgiving, asking people to confine their festivities to individual households, but based on the sobering statistics he rattled off at a State House press conference it appears not enough people listened.

The average number of daily cases nearly doubled to 4,800 in the 10- to 14-day window after Thanksgiving, according to the Baker administration, and hospitalizations were up 93 percent.

Since the holiday, 830 people in Massachusetts have died of COVID-19.

The pandemic may be raging, but economists saw reasons to be optimistic.

Gathered by the Legislature and Executive Office of Administration and Finance to help predict what the next fiscal year will bring, most of the panelists agreed that fiscal year 2022, which begins on July 1, has the potential to be a big rebound year for the economy.

On the most optimistic end of the spectrum, Evan Horowitz told state budget writers that they could have up to $3.46 billion more in tax revenue next year to play with than they did when constructing the most recent budget.

Not everyone shared Horowitz’s level of enthusiasm for where the economy was headed, but most agreed that if Congress delivered another round of stimulus and the vaccine proves effective and easily distributable to the general public by the spring, sales and lodging taxes could surge and income taxes will climb as the number of unemployed workers recedes.

Revenue Commissioner Geoff Snyder predicted growth as high as 8.8 percent in fiscal year 2022, and Congressional leaders were closing in on a nearly $1 trillion stimulus package as the weekend loomed, albeit one that was unlikely to include direct aid for state and municipal governments.

If those predictions come true, writing next year’s budget will be a lot easier for legislators than many had feared when they wrestled with how much to take from the state’s $3.5 billion “rainy day” fund this year.

But for the first time since 2005 when he became Ways and Means chairman, it appears Bob DeLeo’s fingerprints will not be all over the annual state budget.

The cyclical rumors about DeLeo’s future, or lack thereof, in the House kicked up fresh on Wednesday as the Legislature approached the start of a new session. But this time something felt different. And it turned out something was different.

DeLeo’s office refused to push back Wednesday against rumors that he was preparing to exit the State House once and for all, and it took NBC 10 reporting that DeLeo was headed for Northeastern to prompt any sort of response from his office.

That response was a carefully worded denial that DeLeo had an agreement in place to join the university, but nothing that would cause anyone to believe he had plans to stick around.

The Thursday snowstorm gave DeLeo a bit of space to calculate his next move, and on Friday he filed an ethics disclosure indicating that he intended to enter into negotiations with Northeastern for future employment.

With DeLeo all but announcing a date for his resignation, Mariano and his team moved quickly to position the leader as the speaker-in-waiting, but Holmes, a Mattapan Democrat and critic of DeLeo’s leadership, said he wouldn’t let the speakership go without a fight.

“At least we won’t just roll over and hand over the speakership in another backroom deal like they did 12 years ago,” Holmes told the News Service, describing the orchestrated hand-off of power from one white man to another as “structural racism personified.”

But even Holmes acknowledged that it will be difficult for him to overcome the support Mariano’s been building within the institution for years, mentoring younger lawmakers like Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz, who is expected to stay where he is, and representatives like Claire Cronin and Michael Moran, who could be in line for promotions.

But as the House waits for DeLeo’s departure schedule, Mariano urged legislators not to lose focus on the business in front of them. This week that included rejecting Baker’s proposed amendment to an abortion measure that would expand access to the procedure.

The House and Senate voted to stick with provisions that would lower the age for an abortion without parental or judicial consent from 18 to 16 and make clear that abortions after 24 weeks can be allowed to “preserve” a patient’s physical or mental health.

Baker will now have to decide whether to sign it, veto it, or let it become law without his signature.

Mariano also said the House must not allow Baker to “dilute our police reform legislation,” potentially foreshadowing votes on the governor’s amendments to the police accountability bill in the coming weeks.

Article Source: State House News Service
Article By: Michael P. Norton

Buyers Pay Record November Median Price of $460,000

DEC. 15, 2020…..Low interest rates and the work from home shift are contributing to a continuing “frenzy” of home-buying in Massachusetts and sales activity and prices both set new records in November.

Sales rose nearly 25 percent last month and the median sale price of a single-family home increased 17.6 percent compared to last November, to $460,000, The Warren Group reported Tuesday morning.

After a pause when the COVID-19 crisis hit in March, the market roared back in the summer and the sales pace has held up through the fall as buyers, sellers and the industry have adjusted to conditions in the pandemic.

Sales in November exceeded sales in June, reversing the traditional pattern in which home-buying picks up in the spring and slows down in the fourth quarter, said Tim Warren, CEO of The Warren Group.

“Buyers are taking advantage of rock-bottom interest rates and the ability to work from home to set their sights on communities further and further from their offices now that community is less of a factor for many prospective buyers,” said Warren.

Sales in April were down nearly 14 percent. They fell off 30 percent in May and were down 24 percent in June, before beginning to rebound in June and July and then spiking 27 percent in September.

While a record 5,773 sales were recorded last month, sales dipped by 11 percent in Suffolk County, but were “especially strong” on the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, Warren said.

There were 41 home sales on Nantucket last month, compared to 12 in November 2019, and the median home sale price on the island in November was just under $2 million, according to the Warren Group’s data.

Home sales last month in Barnstable County were up more than 52 percent over November 2019, and sales out west in Berkshire County last month rose 43.5 percent over-the-year.

Single-family home sales are up 1.5 percent over the first eleven months of 2019. The median single-family home sale price this year is $445,000, an 11.3 percent increase compared to last year.

The condo market has not been as strong, but sales in November were up more than 11 percent compared to November 2019, and the median condo sale price last month rose 8.5 percent to $410,000, a record for the month.

Year-to-date, condo sales are down 3.5 percent compared to the first 11 months of 2019, with a median price of $415,000, a 9.2 percent increase. Median condo prices fell last month in Suffolk and Middlesex counties.