Congress urged to fix CARES Act taxation penalty

Nearly 20 health care provider organizations, including the AHA, today urged Congress to enact legislation to clarify that relief funds provided through the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund and other programs as part of the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic are exempt from taxation, and that entities receiving them maintain the tax deductions attributable to these funds.

“Without such a correction, tax-paying health care providers lose at least 21% of the benefit of these funds,” the groups said in a letter to congressional leaders. “…We do not believe Congress intended such a consequence in enacting the CARES Act and other COVID-19-related legislation.”