New York, New York (October 18, 2022)— FORWARD, the leading integrated program administration solution for state and local governments, has partnered with the New York Empire State Development (ESD) to administer the COVID-19 Capital Costs Tax Credit Program. Starting on October 18, 2022, FORWARD and ESD will begin taking applications from small businesses to become certified for tax credits to help reduce the pandemic-related financial impact. Qualifying expenses are related to building upgrades, structural changes, or supplies to comply with public health or other emergency-related orders and regulations to increase public safety through infectious disease mitigation during 2021 and 2022.

Businesses independently owned and operated in the State of New York with less than 100 full time employees and gross receipts of less than $2.5M are eligible. Small businesses can receive a tax credit of 50% of qualifying expenses up to a maximum of $25,000 in tax credits based on qualifying expenses of $50,000.

“The pandemic has hit New York’s small businesses especially hard, forcing many to … incur significant financial burdens to protect their employees and customers from COVID-19,” Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement from June 27, 2022 . “Small businesses are the backbone of our state’s economy, and in order to truly recover from the COVID-19 crisis we must lend a helping hand.”

ESD entered a partnership with the FORWARD Platform to screen business’ applications, validate expenses and distribute credits in a way that uses taxpayer dollars efficiently. Applicants and qualifying businesses can expect:

• Multilingual application assistance via phone, text and email
•  Applications available in paper and digital formats in multiple languages
• To fill out a pre-screening questionnaire to confirm their eligibility
• To present proof of expenses and other supporting documents
• A tax credit certificate to submit to the Department of Taxation and Finance when filing a tax return

“FORWARD is proud to provide end-to-end programming support to the Empire State Development department as the small business community continues to navigate the pandemic-related financial impact on their operations,” said Adnan Mahmud, CEO of FORWARD Platform. “Working with community organizations and using our advanced application screening tools, our team is well equipped to ensure funding is dispersed equitability, targeting those that are eligible and need it the most.”

Small businesses are encouraged to apply through the pre-screening tool managed by FORWARD. To learn more about eligibility and qualifying expenses visit www.esd.ny.gov/covid-19-capital-costs-tax-credit.

ABOUT FORWARD 

The FORWARD Platform is the leading comprehensive Integrated Program Administration (IPA) solution for state and local governments across America. FORWARD modernizes the government’s approach to administering programs by integrating all essential services, components, people, and technology into a single streamlined and secure solution. From setting up the application back-end, community outreach and marketing, support in multiple languages, eligibility screening, fraud detection, distribution, to reporting, the platform distributes resources faster than ever before while also cutting waste and fraud. FORWARD has already helped governments administer dozens of programs to get resources to their citizens and businesses quickly, cost-effectively, and securely. To learn more visit www.forwardplatform.com.

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