President Joe Biden announced Wednesday tax credits for certain businesses that pay employees who take time off to access to the COVID-19 vaccine. The tax credits will apply to businesses with fewer than 500 employees, he said.
The Biden administration said the government will reimburse businesses for the cost of giving workers as many as 80 hours in paid time off to get their shots or recover from any side effects.
On the report of Reuters, the tax credit is for up to $511 per day for each worker, through September. Businesses with fewer than 500 employees employ roughly half of U.S. private-sector workers. The tax credits were authorized under Democratic-backed COVID-19 pandemic relief legislation passed by Congress and signed by Biden over Republican opposition.
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“I’m calling on every employer, large and small, in every state to give employees the time off they need with pay to get vaccinated,” the Democratic president said.
To apply for this benefit, companies must have fewer than 500 employees, and employees must have taken time off between April 1 and September 30, 2021.
Employers may request up to $200 per day (for a total of $2,000) for each employee who had to take leave to care for a family member affected by COVID-19.
To reach the vaccination goal
In addition to the tax credits announcement, Biden also said he expects the United States to reach his 100-day goal of getting 200 million coronavirus vaccine shots in arms by the end of the day, even as the nation faces an increase in infections.
“Today we hit 200 million shots,” Biden said. “It’s an incredible achievement for the nation.”