As the COVID-19 pandemic stretched out over the past year, the Texas House has been working on efforts to aid businesses in recovering from losses they have seen. From lockdowns to limited capacity openings and now full open access, Texas House Republicans filed a number of bills this session to help ensure businesses, especially small businesses, are protected.
Today, the Texas House took action on behalf of businesses across the state by passing House Bill 7 by Representative Angie Chen Button and House Bill 1195 by Representative Charlie Geren.
House Bill 7 provides a smart solution to protect the unemployment benefits fund while giving our businesses more time to recover. This bill will help Texas' economy continue to grow and avoid crippling our small businesses.
House Bill 1195 ensures that the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans a business accepted in the last year are not included in franchise tax calculations, so no businesses are taxed for using these funds. The legislation would alleviate the burden of having to be taxed from federal assistance they received during the pandemic.