Late last night, the US Senate passed the CARES Act by a unanimous vote 96—0. This bill will now be considered by the House of Representatives before clearing Congress to the President’s desk for signature.
The bill includes payments for millions of Americans, unemployment benefit expansions, and loans for struggling businesses. The total package is roughly $2 trillion in economic stimulus as a response to the coronavirus. Notably, the final version of the bill aims to send a $1,200 check to every adult earning up to $75,000 —or a $2,400 check for joint tax filers earning up to $150,000, plus $500 for every child they have. The bill also contains several small business relief provisions and expands/streamlines the SBA 7a loan program.
The following was provided by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington
FAQ Guide for Restaurants
RAMW will also be working with the NRA on a FAQ Guide for restaurants, specific to our regional market, so stay tuned.
Tips from RAMW Industry Partner, friend and advisor to many, Matt Hetrick, from CPA Eats Hospitality Accounting and Financial Services.
- CPA advises that the Payroll Protection Program Loans, included in the CARES Act, could be incredibly beneficial for the economic security of small businesses here in our region. He shares some useful information specific to the program below.
PAYROLL PROTECTION PROGRAM LOANS (Section 1102): Loans available from your bank, through the SBA 7(a) program, to help make it through the crisis. You should expect it to take at least until May to get these loans.
- Who Is Eligible? Every small business is an ‘Impacted Borrower.’ Any small business with less than 500 employees per physical location, including self-employed and non-profits. The loan criteria will be incredibly simple: the company has to have been in business on 2/15/20 and paying employees.
- How Much? 2.5 x the average monthly payroll during the 1 year period before the date on which the loan is made. Wages over $100,000 per person and FFCRA reimbursable wages are both excluded from the average payroll calculation.
- What Can the Money be Used For? Payroll costs, including benefits, interest on mortgages, rent, utilities, and interest on debt incurred prior to 2/15/20.
- What Are the Terms? Not personally guaranteed. No collateral. No need not to have credit elsewhere. Anything not forgiven will be at <4% interest, up to 10 year terms. No payments for 6 months.
RAMW has launched a RAMW Coronavirus Resource Guide on their website. This provides pertinent local and national information regarding real time mandates and orders, as well as local and federal opportunities for relief. Please visit the Resource Guide by clicking here. This link will be updated to reflect updates as RAMW gets them to ensure all that is posted is current. If you have any questions please email [email protected].