Governor Newsom held a press conference today in which he outlined what the state is doing to help those affected by the CoronaVirus and Covid-19. A good portion of his briefing centered on small business.
The state has set up a website that describes each of the programs currently in place or in process now. I was pleased to see some serious dollars being made available in grants and loans to small businesses. One example is an interest free deferral of sales taxes of up to $50,000 for businesses with taxable sales of less than $5 million.
As you have probably heard, Congress passed and the president signed a $2.2 Trillion stimulus and relief package to help individuals affected by the Coronavirus and Covid-19. A significant portion of that money is targeted at small business as well.
Of particular interest to businesses with employees should be the Paycheck Protection Program. This is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll.
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.
The Paycheck Protection Program will be available through June 30, 2020. Put this on your Things To Do list for April 3rd when the SBA begins taking applications.
There are a bunch of other programs recently signed into law that can help small businesses and their employees during these times. More programs than we can adequately summarize here and now. However, the US Chamber of Commerce has put together a great resource. Check this out here.
We are all living through a historical time which is pressing on everyone’s business, employment, finances and emotions. As small business owners, we are not drifting aimlessly. There’s help available. Go get yours!
If you’re reading this, we know each other. Either directly or indirectly. In any case, I’m praying for you. Stay healthy!