Supplemental budget bill finally passes House and Senate with full conformity on PPP loans, study on FDII

Vote secures $100 million for 28,000 businesses across the state

    Late Thursday night, March 11, the supplemental budget bill was finally passed, and is now on Governor Janet Mills’ desk.

    In votes of 139-1 in the Maine House of Representatives, and by unanimous vote in the Maine State Senate, lawmakers agreed to full conformity at $100 million on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, taken as a result of the pandemic by tens of thousands of Maine businesses from around the state. On behalf of our members, the Maine State Chamber would like to thank the Mills Administration, Democrats, and Republicans for their bipartisan work to secure this outcome.
    Passage of the supplemental budget bill on an emergency basis is extremely important to the 28,000 businesses across the state that have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. If the Legislature had not voted the way they did, in only four days, businesses would have had to pay income taxes on these loans, which could have been the deciding factor in whether some businesses remained open or had to close their doors. Forgiving these loans will help to ensure that businesses have a chance to stay open and that jobs stay here in Maine. Also included in the budget was a provision to exempt the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits from state income taxes.
    Throughout last week, the Maine State Chamber worked closely with the Mills Administration and Democrat and Republican leadership for full conformity on PPP and on another provision in the supplemental budget that became a sticking point during the debate, the Foreign Derived Intangible Income (FDII) provision. The Maine State Chamber worked through the weekend of March 6-7 with legislative leadership and the administration to clarify the incredible amount of confusion regarding FDII, a deduction available to Maine taxpayers that derive income from exports. Because the impact to Maine-based businesses was not entirely clear, it was decided that a study be done to determine the actual impact if it were to be eliminated. The funding for the program was set aside in the “rainy day” fund pending the outcome of the study.
    Once again, the Maine State Chamber would like to thank Governor Janet Mills, both Republican and Democratic leadership, and all those legislators from both sides of the aisle who came together to help Maine business and their workers.
    For information on this issue, please contact Linda Caprara by calling (207) 623-4568, ext. 106, or by emailing lcaprara@mainechamber.org.