The Natural Products Association recently surveyed its members in order to predict how much money will be required on average for companies to continue their operations with the proper safety precautions in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
 
The average spending projections, according to the member companies surveyed, will be $13,595 annually, though some company expect 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. Due to the uncertainty surrounding state-level government decisions, some companies indicated that they were bracing for significant costs, but were unable to calculate them.
 
To members of Congress, NPA is advocating for tax credits for businesses which face steep reopening costs to help offset a portion of the financial blow that the pandemic has caused them.
 
“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,” Daniel Fabricant, PhD, president and CEO of NPA, said. “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 number one priority.”
 
Specifically, NPA is backing a proposal called the Healthy Workplaces Tax Credit, which provides a refundable tax credit against payroll taxes for 50 percent of the costs incurred by a business for increased COVID-19 testing, PPE, disinfecting, extra cleaning, and reconfiguring work spaces to adhere to social distancing guidelines.
 
This tax credit, NPA said, will encourage and enable businesses to take the recommended steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in their workplaces, and, according to the proposal, will be limited 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, a model which NPA suggests recognizes the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on small- and medium-sized businesses.