New Developments – February 2021
Governor Newsom signed two bills on February 23, that will provide cash grants to qualified small businesses impacted by COVID-19 and cash (stimulus) payments to lower-income families. The Legislature is still negotiating a PPP/EIDL conformity bill that would allow businesses to deduct expenses paid with these loans/grants. It is hoped that this bill will be passed by the end of this week.
President Biden February 22, announced a series of changes to the Paycheck Protection Program designed to make the program more accessible to underserved borrowers. The changes:
- Starting Wednesday, February 24, for a two week period only, businesses with fewer than 20 employees can apply for loans
- The way loans are calculated will be revised so businesses without employees get more relief. Details to be announced later.
- Set aside $1 billion in PPP loan funds for businesses without employees in low- and moderate-income areas.
- The elimination of an exclusion that prevents business owners with non-fraud felony convictions from accessing the program.
- The elimination of an exclusion that prevents business owners who are delinquent on federal students loans from accessing the program.
- Non-citizen small-business owners who are lawful U.S. residents will be able to apply for loans using individual taxpayer identification numbers.
- The SBA reported Monday that it approved more than 1.9 million PPP loans for a total of $40 billion from Jan. 11 through Feb. 21. The application window for the current, $284 billion iteration of PPP is scheduled to close March 31.
- FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Increases Lending to Small Businesses in Need, Announces Changes to PPP to Further Promote Equitable Access to Relief
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By Deepa Bhat, CPA, Principal
In response to the widespread disruption caused by COVID-19, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) announced in their Board meeting on April 8, 2020, a proposal for delays in the following accounting standards for certain entities: (more…)
By Jeff Faust, CVA, Director of Valuation Services
ASL Business Valuation Services
There is quite a bit of uncertainty with businesses given the global coronavirus pandemic. This uncertainly also means that a company’s value has been impacted since uncertainly creates risk and increased risk lowers value. What is this doing to a business owner? What are they thinking and how are they navigating through all of this? (more…)
By Nick Sabbatini, CPA, Audit Manager
Please be aware of potential fraud schemes related to economic stimulus programs offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA): https://www.sba.gov/document/report–sba-programs-scams-fraud-alerts
Links in emails and texts. Those few words, in the context of fraud, likely lead you to think of a range of potential threats to your business. If you’ve addressed the risk appropriately, you’ve trained your employees that such communications may even appear to come from management, others within your organization, or from known vendors and customers. However, these types of attacks are likely to increase in times of crisis, when curiosity, empathy, philanthropy, and fear push people to seek new information, help others in need, and find ways to protect themselves. (more…)
The CARES Act contains several provisions to get cash directly into the hands of taxpayers who are either currently employed or not working. These sources of cash include:
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While businesses are carefully watching their cash flow, The CARES Act contains several provisions to provide cash for immediate operating needs:
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On April 3, 2020, the IRS has released Form 7200 to claim advance payment of tax credits discussed below.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), enacted on March 18, 2020, requires private employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide employees with paid sick leave or extended family and medical leave for specific reasons related to COVID-19.
Effective Date: April 1, 2020, and applies to leave taken between April 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020 (more…)
