Written By: Phil Kabler
Congress has renewed the Payroll Protection Program for the coming year. Qualifying Florida businesses should consider taking advantage of this U.S. Small Business Administration program.
As reported in the January 2021 edition of the The American Horse Council While the description below is focused on the equine industry, it is also applicable to businesses in-general.
Beginning Friday, January 15, SBA will focus its efforts on small lenders which hold $1 billion or less in assets. On Tuesday, January 19, PPP will fully open to all participating lenders regardless of size. Fortunately for large segments of the horse industry, SBA is implementing the two-tiered roll out to focus on smaller banks such as credit unions, farm credit institutions, and minority depository institutions. Highlights of the new program include the following:
- Borrowers may apply for first-time and second draw loans through March 31
- While focusing on second draw borrowers, the program will allocate $35 billion for first-time borrowers; second draw borrowers must demonstrate a 25 percent drop in revenue spanning at least “one 2019 quarter to the same quarter in 2020.” Under the original CARES Act, borrowers only had to attest to economic hardship.
- SBA will cap loans at $2 million, down from $10 million under the CARES Act.
- SBA restricts second draw applications to businesses that employ no more than 300 personnel. The agency imposes a 500-employee cap for certain first-time borrowers.
SBA defines “first draw” borrowers as those businesses that did not receive a PPP loan before August 8, 2020. From late March through early August, SBA awarded loans to approximately 5.2 million businesses. On January 12, the agency announced that it had forgiven 1.1 million PPP loans totaling more than $100 billion. While the CARES Act and subsequent legislation authorized over $650 billion for PPP, the federal government has re-purposed more than $130 billion of un-used funding, as demand for loans and grants plateaued during the summer.
First time borrowers may review the five-page application at the following link: Paycheck Protection Program: Borrower Application Form Revised January 8, 2021 (sba.gov). Second draw borrowers can review the six-page application here: Paycheck Protection Program: Second Draw Borrower Application Form (sba.gov). Other resources are available at Paycheck Protection Program and The Treasury Department.
To take advantage of the new PPP round of funding, interested businesses should immediately consult with their attorneys, lenders, and accountants.
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The writer of this article is an American Horse Council [The American Horse Council] member: see The American Horse Council Flipbook. He is also a member of the American College of Equine Attorneys [American College of Equine Attorneys.
The American Horse Council logo is included in compliance with its attribution permission requirements:
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