After being introduced to both the Senate and the House in Dec. 2022, the Restaurant Revitalization Tax Credit Act is being reintroduced to the new 118th Congress by Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.). The legislation would create a special tax credit in 2023 for those who applied for, were eligible for, but did not receive a Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant because the U.S. Small Business Administration ran out of money.
"We have not forgotten about these restaurants," Sen. Cardin said.
Nearly two-thirds of eligible applicants — or 175,000 businesses — did not receive funding from the original $28.6 billion of RRF grants awarded to restaurants in 2021. While the second round of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund died in Congress in May, RRF came back into the conversation this fall when the SBA distributed $83 million in leftover funds to 169 restaurants from the first go-around.