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COVID-19 Response and Resources

COVID-19 Response and Resources2021-03-12T09:57:09-05:00

SCACPA’s COVID-19 Response and Resources Page

Your firms, organizations, clients and communities are depending on your expertise during this crisis. We know you are doing everything you can to mitigate risks and help keep your firms and businesses running. Here are resources you are likely to find useful.

View From the Dome (March 5, 2021): House Ways and Means Committee is Cautious With its Version of State Budget

By Copper Dome Strategies Friday, March 5, 2021 The House Ways and Means Committee adopted its version of the state budget. The Senate spent [...]

By |March 5th, 2021|Categories: Advocate, COVID-19, Governmental, Legislative/Advocacy, Regulatory, Tax|Comments Off on View From the Dome (March 5, 2021): House Ways and Means Committee is Cautious With its Version of State Budget
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It’s Individual Income Tax Season – Do You Need Clarification on What’s Taxable? Here is a List of Advisory Opinions

The South Carolina Department of Revenue has issued many advisory opinions over the past year that clarify taxability on topics that have generated a [...]

By |February 26th, 2021|Categories: COVID-19, Featured, Governmental, Regulatory, Tax|Comments Off on It’s Individual Income Tax Season – Do You Need Clarification on What’s Taxable? Here is a List of Advisory Opinions
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View From the Dome (Feb. 26, 2021): Senate Approves “COVID-19 Liability Safe Harbor Act,” Bill Now Heads to House

By Copper Dome Strategies Friday, Feb. 26, 2021 The Senate worked into the evening twice this week before approving a bond bill for port [...]

By |February 26th, 2021|Categories: Advocate, COVID-19, Governmental, Legislative/Advocacy, Regulatory, Tax|Comments Off on View From the Dome (Feb. 26, 2021): Senate Approves “COVID-19 Liability Safe Harbor Act,” Bill Now Heads to House
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View From the Dome (Feb. 19, 2021): Senate Sets Priority on COVID-19 Liability Safe Harbor Act as its Debate Continues

By Copper Dome Strategies Friday, Feb. 19, 2021 After heated debate and a Democratic walkout, the House adopted the Fetal Heartbeat bill this week, [...]

By |February 19th, 2021|Categories: Advocate, COVID-19, Governmental, Legislative/Advocacy, Regulatory, Tax|Comments Off on View From the Dome (Feb. 19, 2021): Senate Sets Priority on COVID-19 Liability Safe Harbor Act as its Debate Continues
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View From the Dome (Feb. 12): Senate to Consider Personal Finance Courses Requirement to Replace Economics Classes for High Schoolers

By Copper Dome Strategies Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 The House Judiciary Committee met into the evening on Tuesday and adopted the Fetal Heartbeat bill. [...]

By |February 12th, 2021|Categories: Advocate, COVID-19, Governmental, Legislative/Advocacy, Tax|Comments Off on View From the Dome (Feb. 12): Senate to Consider Personal Finance Courses Requirement to Replace Economics Classes for High Schoolers
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Preventing Fraud During COVID-19: DEW Warns About Consequences for ‘Double-Dipping’ of Combining Unemployment Claims with PPP-Backed Income

The S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce reminds employers and workers that abusing federal relief funding such as Paycheck Protection Program loans could lead [...]

By |February 5th, 2021|Categories: Blogs, Business & Industry, Communicate, COVID-19, Governmental, Membership Page Controls, Public Relations, Technology|Comments Off on Preventing Fraud During COVID-19: DEW Warns About Consequences for ‘Double-Dipping’ of Combining Unemployment Claims with PPP-Backed Income
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View From the Dome (Jan. 29, 2021): DOR Tells Economic Development Subcommittee That SC’s Tax Revenues are Strong

By Copper Dome Strategies Friday, Jan. 29, 2021 Both chambers engaged in the first significant floor debates of the new session, with the House passing [...]

By |January 29th, 2021|Categories: Advocate, COVID-19, Governmental, Legislative/Advocacy, Regulatory, Tax|Comments Off on View From the Dome (Jan. 29, 2021): DOR Tells Economic Development Subcommittee That SC’s Tax Revenues are Strong
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Unemployment Benefits

The Governor issued Executive Order 2020-22 today, allowing furloughed employees to receive unemployment benefits while simultaneously receiving “COVID-19 Support Payments” from their employer.

The order requires SC. Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW) to consider “a voluntary payment, or series of payments made by an employer to an employee in response to furloughing the employee” as a form of severance pay, which will not disqualify an employee from receiving unemployment. This order will allow employers to continue to support their employees while allowing them to receive unemployment benefits.

As SCDEW issues further guidance, we will be sure to share that information with our members.

Many individuals have had trouble getting through on the SC Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) website to file unemployment claims. One primary reason for this problem is that DEW is required to verify social security numbers to validate claims requests, and, unfortunately, the national system (ICON hub) to do this verification is in overload with validation requests. Employers can share the information below with filers to help answer their questions about delays.

  • Every state in the country sends data to one server (ICON hub) as part of their filing procedure, maintained by the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) on contract for USDOL.
  • Usually, the system pushes SSN verifications through automatically. Due to the current overload, DEW has to take manual steps to push SSN verifications, including closing the claimant system from 11:00 pm – 3:00 am every day (the time of day with the fewest users) to push numbers through ICON and the Social Security Administration during their off-peak times.
  • DEW has asked NASWA and USDOL to do everything possible to offer relief on the backlog that South Carolina and the other states and territories are experiencing.

The CARES Act included additional funding for unemployment insurance and expanded benefits to many categories of previously ineligible individuals. See the details below on the expanded benefits and availability.

  • Increased benefits to those who currently qualify: individuals who ordinarily would be eligible for unemployment can now receive the regular amount of compensation available under state law, and an additional flat fee of $600 per week.
    CARES also provides an additional 13 weeks of UI benefits.
  • Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA): expands benefits to self-employed workers, including independent contractors, freelancers, farmers, and gig workers. Self-employed workers with an LLC or S corporation also qualify.
  • Note: these benefits are not available to those who can work remotely or already are receiving paid leave benefits, including those benefits available under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)

In The News

Richland County will make $1 MILLION in financial aid available to area small businesses and nonprofits through a grant program. The process opens Monday, April 27, and applications must be submitted via ZoomGrants on the county website. Learn more at www.richlandcountysc.gov.

For more details, contact County Grants Coordinator Tyler Kirk at 803.576.5459 or email Kirk.Tyler@richlandcountysc.gov.

Gov. Henry McMaster announced on Monday the formation of an economic revitalization task force called “Accelerate SC.” Revised estimates predict that the peak of new COVID-19 cases in South Carolina was on April 15 and the peak in deaths was April 9. The Accelerate SC task force will develop a plan to move South Carolina toward a phased-in revitalization path as healthcare data indicates it is safe and appropriate to do so.

Accelerate SC includes representatives from various business and industry sectors. For a full list of members, click here. The plan’s five categories are Response, Protection, Governance, Resources and Information. The first meeting will be Thursday.

New Executive Order: Gov. McMaster issued Executive Order 2020-28, which reopens public beaches and waterways effective Tuesday, April 21 at noon, allowing local governments to decide whether to close beaches within their jurisdictions. The order also reopens certain retail stores, effective today at 5 pm, including:

  • Furniture and home-furnishings stores
  • Clothing, shoe, and clothing-accessory stores
  • Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores
  • Department stores, with the exception of hardware and home-improvement stores
  • Sporting goods stores
  • Book, craft, and music stores
  • Flea markets
  • Florists and flower stores

*All stores are required to (1) limit occupancy to five customers per 1,000 square feet of retail space or 20 percent occupancy, whichever is less; (2) ensure customers are not congregating within 6 feet of one another, and (3) implement all reasonable steps to comply with CDC and DHEC sanitation guidelines.

Source: SC Chamber of Commerce

In a letter to key members of South Carolina’s House and Senate, Gov. Henry McMaster on Thursday offered a proposal for the chambers to return to Columbia and pass a Continuing Resolution that will allow state government to continue with the new fiscal year that begins July 1 while also protecting the health and safety of the members of the General Assembly and their staff.

Although the House and Senate have the authority to return on their own, McMaster is asking the General Assembly to not be back at the State House before the May 15 sine die date. DHEC forecasts that the state’s peak confirmed COVID-19 cases and fatalities will be May 1 with a gradual decline afterward.

For safety, McMaster said he will call the House and Senate back in June to adopt the Continuing Resolution “on a date and time of your choosing, for the purpose of passing a continuing resolution for the operation of state government.”

“Returning before May 14 for session, even briefly, could place the health and safety of your members at an elevated risk for exposure to the virus,” McMaster writes in the letter addressed to Sen. President Harvey Peeler and House Speaker Rep. Jay Lucas.

South Carolina’s new fiscal year begins July 1, and state government can proceed so long as legislators can get the Continuing Resolution passed by June 30.

“I believe – and hope – that by late June that risk will have diminished to the extent that businesses and activities in our state may be safely resumed and conducted using personal safety precautions,” McMaster writes.

“I look forward to working together to accelerate South Carolina’s economic restart,” McMaster concludes.

The Associated Press reports that Lucas agreed to the proposal immediately and that Peeler appreciated the offer while considering it to be an insurance policy in case the state and legislature have not reopened sooner “so that his offer will not be necessary.”

Executive Order 2020-21 went into effect at 5:00 pm yesterday. In addition to the FAQ we sent Monday, we are providing the following clarifications based on the questions we have received since the order was issued.

  • SLED Clarification Regarding Travel Restrictions: As we have stated previously and contrary to what some of our members have heard, Governor McMaster’s orders DO NOT require citizens to possess special credentials to travel to essential work and activities.
  • The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) issued guidance regarding the enforcement of Governor McMaster’s orders and expressly noted:
    • “Law enforcement officers should continue to conduct enforcement activity in accordance with their own agency’s practices and protocols. During the course of these normal operations, if an officer develops reasonable suspicion or probable cause that an individual is in violation of Executive Order 2020-21, or any other Executive Order, the officer may take the appropriate enforcement action. However, there is no requirement in any existing Executive Order that an individual must possess or be able to provide written proof regarding the individual’s activities or travel, essential or otherwise.”
  • Nothing is prohibiting a business from issuing employees paperwork that states they are an essential employee and must travel to work at an essential business. Still, the Governor’s executive orders do not require such a credential.

During the coronavirus pandemic, auditors need to be more creative and agile than ever before. The Center for Plain English Accounting’s Consequences of COVID-19: Potential Auditing Challenges report walks practitioners through how to handle present potential auditing challenges.

The SBA offers multiple funding options for those seeking relief. Click Here for information.

The SBA has released FAQs about the Paycheck Protection Program, the $349 billion small business relief program that is a key part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, P.L. 116-136.

AICPA CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA joins CPA.Com CEO and President Erik Asgeirsson to discuss the latest on the Payroll Protection Plan, specifically: application form & requirements; guidance from policymakers; lender and payroll data elements; and the role of the CPA firm.

Spring Splash 2020 is Going Virtual

While social distancing measures prevent a full, in-person Spring Splash 2020, SCACPA has a solution: We promise to deliver to you our planned tracks of Tax and A&A via livestream on May 14-15.

Nationally recognized speakers will administer the high-quality CPE you require – with the convenience and security of online livestream presentations.

Earn 16 hours of credit by selecting either track or choose a mix of sessions. Or, you can choose them individually if you only want sessions based on your specific needs.

Register Today and Stay Informed

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