Action Alert - 4/27/20

This alert was distributed via email to subscribers of the GFB Legislative Team's Action Alert on April 27, 2020.

Additional Payroll Protection Program Funds Available

APPLICATION OPENS TODAY

This past Thursday, April 23, the House approved H.R. 266 (116), allowing for an additional $484 billion in coronavirus aid. Included in the package is an additional $310 billion towards the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The application for PPP funds reopened today.

Over the weekend, the Treasury Department released new guidance for calculating the maximum PPP loan, which includes guidance for farmers who file an IRS Schedule F. The updated guidance can be viewed here. The Small Business Administration (SBA) also released new FAQs, which include how businesses could interpret the definition for an employee’s “principal place of residence” for H-2A and H-2B workers. The updated FAQs can be viewed here.

The bipartisan agreement also allows for agricultural operations with fewer than 500 employees to qualify for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), which offers up to $10,000 in advance to businesses that are losing revenue amid the coronavirus pandemic. Lawmakers and agricultural organizations, including the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB), had previously asked SBA to make corrections to the bill to ensure that farmers and ranchers were eligible for the program.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published a FAQ website pertaining to a multitude of COVID-19 related concerns for farmers and ranchers, including a section on PPP. You can view USDA's website by clicking here. Additional information on both the PPP and EIDL can be found below.

NOTE: Farmers and ranchers should continue consulting with their accountant, tax preparer and/or financial advisor about the PPP and EIDL application for their particular situation because this additional funding will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis and will go quickly. As always, you are also free to reach out to Georgia Farm Bureau’s Public Policy Department with any questions you may have.

DOT EXTENDS NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARATION FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a new guaranteed loan program for small businesses to keep their employees on the payroll. Eligible businesses include nonprofits, veterans organizations, Tribal business concerns, sole proprietorships, self-employed individuals, and independent contractors – with 500 or fewer employees.

Loans are capped at $10 million but can include up to eight weeks of the businesses average monthly payroll costs from the last year plus an additional 25 percent for non-payroll costs. Seasonal and new businesses will use different calculations. The PPP will be available through June 30, 2020.

The loan will be forgiven if:

All employees are kept or quickly rehired and compensation levels are maintained for eight weeks (payroll costs are capped at $100,000 on an annualized basis for each employee)
The funds are used for:
Payroll and benefits
Mortgage interest incurred before February 15, 2020
Rent, under lease agreements in force before February 15, 2020
Utilities, for which service began before February 15, 2020.

Borrowers will still owe money if:

The loan amount is used for anything other than payroll costs, mortgage interest, rent, and utilities payments over the 8 weeks after getting the loan.
Due to likely high subscription, it is anticipated that not more than 25 percent of the forgiven amount may be for non-payroll costs.
You will also owe money if you do not maintain your staff and payroll.

Farmers can apply for the PPP through any existing SBA 7(a) lenders or through any federally insured depository institution, federally insured credit union, and Farm Credit System institution that is participating.

Small Business Administration: Economic Injury Disaster Loans

The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program provides small businesses with working capital loans of up to $2 million that can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing. In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, small business owners in all U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and territories are eligible to apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan advance of up to $10,000. The loan advance will provide economic relief to businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. Funds will be made available within three days of a successful application, and this loan advance will not have to be repaid.

EIDL Loan Application