DAILY VRLTA UPDATE 3/19/20
LEAD NEWS: The Virginia Department of Taxation will consider requests for an extension of the due date for filing and payment of the February 2020 sales tax return due March 20, 2020
 
Tax Commissioner Craig M. Burns has announced that Virginia Tax will consider requests from sales tax dealers for an extension of the due date for filing and payment of the February 2020 sales tax return due March 20, 2020. If the request is granted, Virginia Tax will allow filing and payment of such return on April 20, 2020, with a waiver of any penalties that would have applied. However, interest will accrue even if an extension is granted.

You must request an extension! See all the details here.

Some localities also considering and enacting tax relief - we will share more as information becomes available.
ABC Update

The Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control has announced that ABC stores are considered essential services during this time. This means they will remain open in some fashion throughout the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are asking for visitors to follow the Governor’s 10 person limit rule. Beginning March 20th, the ABC will be reducing business hours of the 24 stores in the Peninsula Health District. These limitations will begin on Friday, and hours will be open from noon until 7pm, seven days a week. Additional information can be found here .

The ABC has also released information addressing allowing restaurants that have either a wine & beer on premises only ABC license or an on & off premises ABC licensee to deliver wine and beer to a customer curbside who is seated in a vehicle and parked in a designated parking area as long as the order was placed electronically. Moreover, ABC has announced they will temporarily expedite the issuance of delivery permits for any establishment that has off-premise license privileges. Additional information can be found here.

Finally, the ABC has released regulatory interpretations to offer some relief for retail licenses, and others during the COVID-19 pandemic. A complete breakdown of the interpretations can be found here.
Small Business Administration Updates

The U.S. Small Business Administration offers assistance in times of disaster to businesses. You can read a fact sheet from the SBA for Coronavirus here .
 
The Governor of Virginia has submitted a request to the U.S. Small Business Administration for them to implement a small business declaration to provide assistance in the form of SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans. You can read the full letter from the Governor here.
 
The SBA has announced that low-interest federal loans are available for businesses impacted by the Coronavirus in the Washington Metropolitan area which includes Fairfax County, Arlington County, and the City of Alexandria. The assistance is provided by the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. The loans are available to small businesses, private nonprofit organizations of any size. Businesses may qualify for up to $2 million, and the loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid as a result of the disaster. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses and 2.75% for nonprofits and repaid over a period of 30 years. You can read more about the loan terms here . In addition, you can apply online here:  https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/
Travel Industry Businesses and Organizations:

By noon tomorrow, 3/20, you can sign on to this letter being sent from the U.S. Travel Association to Congressional leadership.
Some Good News - Lots of Efforts to Support Restaurants & Employees!

Visit this page to see all the great ways the restaurant industry is coming together!
Continue to visit https://www.virginiaisforrestaurantlovers.com for more information about the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on the tourism and hospitality industries. We are working to add additional resources, links, and news articles as they become available.