$349B-plus in small biz loans, advances, etc.

Attractive terms draw thousands of applicants

      Congress approved forgivable loan payments, loan advances and other unusually generous benefits for small businesses among an array of new and expanded programs to assist small firms coping with the coronavirus pandemic.

      More than $349 billion in funding was awarded for small businesses under two recent economic stimulus bills. The “Families First” bill provides for tax credits to reimburse companies for providing paid sick leave for employees. The “CARES Act” offers $349 billion for small businesses in an array of programs.

      The largest program, the Paycheck Protection Program in the CARES bill, has attracted tens of thousands of applicants since opening on April 3. But there are likely to be delays in processing due to last-minute changes in terms and reports that SBA’s system to process the loans was crashing. Even so, the Treasury Dept. said $1.8 billion in loan applications were submitted the first day.

      The CARES and Families First programs include:

• Paycheck Protection Program - Up to $10 million in loans for payroll and other costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic through June 30. SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest or utilities (https://bit.ly/34gqVhQ.);
• SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance: Provides up to a $10,000 loan advance that does not have to be repaid (https://bit.ly/3aLsRS0.);
• SBA Express Bridge Loans - For firms that already have an SBA loan there is $25,000 in additional funds available (https://bit.ly/2RgleLH.);
• SBA Debt Relief for previous SBA loans (https://bit.ly/2wiw901.); and
• IRS Tax credits for Paid Sick Leave (https://bit.ly/34cEuyT.)

More information:
See today's column: "DOL Issues Temporary FFCRA Regulations..."

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