California State Governor Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday a deal on the massive COVID-19 relief program, also known as the “Golden Gate stimulus,” and is expected to be passed for legislative approval next week.
The proposal is part of the federal government’s $9.6 billion economic recovery package for the coronavirus pandemic. The package includes federal funds for child-care assistance, where the remaining came from taxes across the state. This was possible due to the tax revenue collections that turned out better than officials expected.
$600 Stimulus Payment
Last month, Newsom proposed a one-time $600 stimulus payment for California residents, with a total fund of about $2.3 billion. The financial support would go to residents, even those who have earned the state’s earned income tax credit for 2020. The money would be sent out to those who have an annual salary of less than $30,000.
Newsom’s proposal would also provide taxpayers who have individual tax identification numbers who were not fortunate enough to receive federal stimulus payments with the state check, given that their annual salary was below $75,000.
Illegal immigrants in the country who did not file tax forms would also benefit from the proposal and receive financial support. State leaders said they would give out $1,200 payments to ITIN taxpayers who are qualified or the California earned income tax credit. The state plans to give out about 5.7 million payments to low-income residents.
Californians who have annual salaries of less than $30,000 are eligible for the state’s earned income tax credit. Last year, the list included about 3.9 million taxpayers across the region. The new relief package provides residents with a one-time $600 payment to households enrolled in the CalWORKS public assistance program, recipients of supplemental security income, and the state’s Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants program.
Businesses could also expect to receive financial support with a grant proposal totaling about $2.1 billion. The package is founded on a $500 million provided that has supported about 21,000 small businesses in the region since December.
Small Business Loans
Officials will give small businesses tax relief over the next several years by exempting the first $150,000 of expenses that the federal Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Funds paid for. It also includes $116 million in fee waivers that would support severely struggling service industries for two years.
Low-income students who have six or more units at California Community Colleges can qualify for the $100 million emergency financial aid. The Housing for the Harvest plans to give out $24 million to support agricultural workers who are required to quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The relief package also includes $35 million that would be given out to food banks and used for diapers. About $6 million would be distributed for outreach and application assistance for several universities in the region, including University of California, California State University, and California Community College students.
