North Dakota Ag Connection - Hoeven: Greater Flexibility to Small Businesses Under PPP

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Hoeven: Greater Flexibility to Small Businesses Under PPP
North Dakota Ag Connection - 06/04/2020

Senator John Hoeven Wednesday issued the following statement after helping pass the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, legislation to enable small businesses to better benefit from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and support a stronger recovery from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Among other things, the bill would extend the PPP loan forgiveness period and allow a greater portion of the loan proceeds to cover approved non-payroll expenses. The legislation has now passed both the Senate and the House and will go to the president to be signed into law.

"The purpose of the PPP is to help small businesses weather the challenges of the pandemic and keep their employees on payroll, and this legislation provides flexibility to better achieve these critical goals," said Hoeven. "Importantly, the bill expands the period where expenses can be forgiven and allows businesses to better use the loan to cover costs like rent and utilities. These are timely changes that will support our economy as it recovers from this public health emergency, and we look forward to the president signing the bill into law."

Specifically, the legislation passed today makes the following changes to the PPP:

- Extends the loan forgiveness period from eight to 24 weeks.

- Reduces the proceeds required for payroll expenses from 75 to 60 percent.

- Increases the loan repayment period from two to five years.

- Allows payroll tax deferral for PPP recipients.

- Extends the June 30 rehiring deadline.

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