NPA urges Congress to help natural products businesses offset COVID-19 related costs with tax credits

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As Congress begins deliberations on additional financial assistance, the Natural Products Association (NPA: Washington, D.C.) is pushing officials to include tax credits for natural products businesses facing high reopening costs due to COVID-19.

According to a new survey, NPA members project spending an annual average of $13,595, with some expected to spend as much as $200,000, on COVID-19-related priorities including testing, personal protective equipment (PPE), and workplace changes to accommodate social distancing. Some companies indicated they were bracing for significant costs but were unable to calculate them due to the uncertainties of state-level government decisions on reopening.

“As Americans have turned to nutritional supplements to support their health and immune systems in this crisis, natural products businesses have truly been a lifeline,” said Daniel Fabricant, PhD, president and CEO of NPA, in a press release. “The downside is that this has come at great cost, and this survey reflects that. It is vital that Congress include targeted tax credits for natural products businesses, so they can continue to serve the American people and keep their doors open. We checked with our members on what they need most from the next stimulus package and this was the no. 1 priority.”

To help businesses absorb the costs related to safely reopening, NPA is backing a proposal called the Healthy Workplaces Tax Credit. It will help businesses reopen safely while ensuring employee and customer confidence by:

• Providing a refundable tax credit against payroll taxes for 50% of the costs incurred by the business for COVID-19 testing, PPE, disinfecting, extra cleaning, and reconfiguring workspaces until the end of the year.
• Encouraging and enabling businesses to take the recommended steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in their workplaces.
• Limiting this benefit to a maximum of $1,000 per employee for a business’s first 500 employees, $750 per employee for the next 500 employees, and $500 for each employee thereafter — recognizing the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on small- and medium-sized businesses.