Greetings and Happy New Year! I hope everyone had the chance to relax and spend some quality time with loved ones. Let’s get energized for a productive and prosperous 2021! Here are 6 items of interest to start the new year:
- NPPO Annual Report to Congress. The newest version has been added to the VA Annual Report section of the website.
- SCRS White Paper. Attached is the most recent white paper from SCRS, “Patient Centricity and Virtualizing Technologies in a COVID-19 World”.
- NIH GPS Reminder. Remember that the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which serves as the terms and conditions of all NIH awards, requires each institution to make its FCOI policy publicly available on a pubic website. See NIH GPS Section 4.1.10 for more information.
- Legislative Update.
- Appropriations. The FY2021 Appropriations contains $815 million for VA Medical and Prosthetic Research, a 1.9% increase over FY20. In other federal medical research appropriations, the omnibus includes increases over the prior year of over $1 billion for NIH, $200 million for the National Science Foundation, and $42 million for the FDA. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality was flat-funded. The COVID-19 relief bill includes COVID-19 related emergency funding for NIH, CDC, and FDA.
- i. Paycheck Protection Program (PPP): Several changes to the PPP program were included, such as allowing qualifying entities to be eligible for a second loan (called “PPP Second Draw”) of up to $2 million. To be eligible, qualifying entities must:
· Employ no more than 300 workers;
· Have used or will use the full amount of their first PPP loan; and
· Demonstrate at least a 25% reduction in gross receipts during the same quarter in 2020 versus 2019.
· Organizations primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities, including public policy advocacy organizations and think tanks, are ineligible for the loan.
The bill also simplifies the loan forgiveness process for loans of $150,000 or less.
- ii. Changes to the Charitable Contribution Deduction:
- Extends until 2021 the above-the-line temporary charitable deduction that was included in the CARES Act. Non-itemizer individuals in tax year 2021 can deduct $300 for cash contributions to qualifying public charities, and non-itemizer couples filing jointly qualify for $600. Donations to donor advised funds and supporting organizations are not eligible for this deduction.
- Extends for one year the increased limit from the CARES Act on deductible charitable contributions for corporations and taxpayers who itemize. The limits for 2021 will be 100 percent of AGI for individuals and 25 percent of taxable income for corporations.
- iii. Paid Sick Leave: Extends the refundable payroll tax credits for paid sick and family leave that were established in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, through March 31, 2021.
- iv. Changes to the Charitable Contribution Deduction:
- Extends until 2021 the above-the-line temporary charitable deduction that was included in the CARES Act. Non-itemizer individuals in tax year 2021 can deduct $300 for cash contributions to qualifying public charities, and non-itemizer couples filing jointly qualify for $600. Donations to donor advised funds and supporting organizations are not eligible for this deduction.
- Extends for one year the increased limit from the CARES Act on deductible charitable contributions for corporations and taxpayers who itemize. The limits for 2021 will be 100 percent of AGI for individuals and 25 percent of taxable income for corporations.
- Calendar Highlights
JAN 7 Non-Profit Oversight Board (NPOB) Quarterly Meeting
JAN 13 NAVREF Webinar: “Adapt, Survive, and Thrive: How the Clinical Research Workforce Rebuilds” presented by Medix Staffing Solutions
JAN 19 SCRS Webinar: “Engaging Physicians in a Healthcare Setting to Increase Research Activity” Register Here
