East Michigan News

Michigan residents can expect to see benefits from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 as early as mid-March, according to Bridge Michigan.

The plan was first passed by the U.S Senate on March 6 and then passed by the U.S House of Representatives on March 10; now it heads to President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign the bill later this week.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 aims to provide benefits to low- and middle-income families, businesses and communities in an effort to curb the effects of the year-long COVID-19 pandemic on the nation's economy.

"This is actually targeted toward the working class and lower incomes,” Chris O'Leary, economist at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, told Bridge Michigan.

Once the plan is signed, residents can expect to receive the long-awaited $1,400 stimulus payment; individuals making $75,000 or less and couples earning up to $150,000 are eligible to receive the full stimulus, while smaller amounts will be given to individuals or couples earning $80,000 and $160,000, respectively.

Families with children would receive more incentives in the form of tax credits of up to $3,600 per child. Additionally, jobless workers would see their unemployment payments nearly doubled with an additional $300 per week until Saturday, Sept. 4.

Provisions in the bill were also made so that workers who were unable to work long-term during the COVID-19 pandemic do not have to pay taxes for a portion of their received benefits; approximately 700,000 jobless workers would be exempt from income tax payments on the first $10,200 they received for 2020.

Businesses in Michigan would also receive a boost in the form of $10 billion that would go towards replenishing the Michigan Unemployment Trust Fund, balancing out the budgets of communities that have experienced tax decline from lower commercial property values, and funding municipalities that have lost city income tax revenue.

Michigan schools will receive an additional $3.8 billion in funds from the COVID-19 relief package, adding to the $2.5 billion already received from earlier relief packages in 2020.

This total of $6.3 billion would be used to assist schools with online learning, mitigation efforts to curb the spread of the virus on school property, personal protective equipment and updating schools' ventilation systems.