NOTE 10

EMPLOYEE RETENTION CREDIT (“ERC”)

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Securities Act (“CARES Act”), which was enacted on March 27, 2020, provided an Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) for qualifying businesses keeping employees on their payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ERC was subsequently amended by the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, the Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2021, and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, all of which amended and extended the ERC availability and guidelines under the CARES Act. Following these amendments, the Company determined that it was eligible for the ERC, and as a result of the foregoing legislations, was eligible to claim a refundable tax credit against the Company’s share of certain payroll taxes equal to 70% of the qualified wages paid to employees between July 1, 2021 and September 30, 2021. Qualified wages were limited to $10,000 per employee per calendar quarter in 2021 for a maximum allowable ERC per employee of $7,000 per calendar quarter in 2021. For purposes of the amended ERC, an eligible employer was defined as having experienced a significant (20% or more) decline in gross receipts during one or more of the first three 2021 calendar quarters when compared to 2019.

During the third quarter of 2022, the Company determined it was eligible for the ERC and amended its third quarter 2021 employer payroll tax filings claiming a refund from the U.S. Treasury in the amount of approximately $1,975,000. As there is no authoritative guidance under U.S. GAAP on accounting for government assistance to for-profit business entities, the Company accounted for the ERC by analogy to International Accounting Standard (“IAS”) 20, “Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance.” In accordance with IAS 20, management determined it had reasonable assurance for receipt of the ERC and recorded the expected refund as other income (within “Other income (expense)”) on the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations and other receivables (within “Prepaid and other assets”) on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. On March 30, 2023, the Company received the ERC refund of $1,975,000 and approximately $60,000 in interest (recorded within “Interest Income” on the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2023), totaling approximately $2,035,000.