Bi-partisan members of the Congressional Direct Selling Caucus sent a letter to leadership in the House and Senate requesting relief for direct sellers in the next stimulus package to be passed by Congress.
Led by Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) and Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX), the letter was signed also signed by Caucus members Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), and Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL).
The letter requests that future packages aimed to help direct sellers recover from the global pandemic include:
- Waive self-employment taxes on all 1099 filers for one year
- Increased tax credit or allowance for telework or work-from-home expenses (including business startup and operational expenses) that can be claimed by self-employed individuals or companies incurring expense to enable their employees or contractors to work from home
- If an independent contractor accesses temporary expanded benefits under the CARES Act, this cannot be used in future actions to determine employee status
Direct Selling Association President Joseph N. Mariano said, “We thank Reps. Hudson and Veasey as well as members of the Congressional Direct Selling Caucus for requesting these priorities in the next stimulus legislation that will help millions of individuals across the United States. Inclusion of these provisions in future legislation will help new and incoming salespeople navigate the negative impacts of the global pandemic.”
For a copy of the letter, click here.
