Is your business considered an Essential Industry?

​NEW Protocol for Essential Business:

• Effective Monday, March 30 at 5 p.m. Governor Cooper issued a state-wide Stay-At-Home order for nonessential businesses. The lists of essential businesses are much more extensive than earlier orders. Please check the list in the link above first to see if your business is essential. If your company is essential, you do not need any type of paperwork for your employees to come to work.
• If your company is uncertain whether it is essential, you may make an essential business request with the N.C. Dept. of Revenue here .
• If a company made a previous request to be considered an essential business, it is not valid and you must start again. Again, a company must ask with the new process in the essential business link above if the company is not sure and wants to get an official State decision. If you make a request to NCDOR, you may continue to operate until the request is acted upon.
• In accordance with the City of Burlington's State of Emergency, any business that is deemed nonessential, must close. There are still allowances for minimum operations (human resources, payroll, facilities maintenance) but nonessential business must close operations.

Federal Coronavirus Aid Package - Business Resources 

Congress has passed a $2 Trillion Federal Coronavirus Aid Package that orders significant financial, tax and social tools be expanded and offered to businesses and employees throughout the country.  Here are some of the highlights of the stimulus package for businesses:

ASSISTANCE FOR AMERICAN WORKERS AND FAMILIES
In the weeks immediately after the passage of the CARES Act, Americans will see fast and direct relief in the form of Economic Impact Payments. For more information, CLICK HERE.

ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
The Paycheck Protection Program prioritizes millions of Americans employed by small businesses by authorizing up to $349 billion toward job retention and certain other expenses. Small businesses and eligible nonprofit organizations, Veterans organizations, and Tribal businesses described in the Small Business Act, as well as individuals who are self-employed or are independent contractors, are eligible if they also meet program size standards.

For a top-line overview of the program CLICK HERE
If you’re a lender, more information can be found HERE
If you’re a borrower, more information can be found HERE
The application for borrowers can be found HERE

Main Street Lending Program
U.S.-based businesses and nonprofits with 10,000 employees or less, or those with $2.5 billion or less in revenue last year, will be able to refinance existing loans or obtain new unsecured loans through a $600 billion program designed by the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department. Loans will be provided through banks and credit unions, with a minimum loan size of $1 million, a repayment period of 4 years, interest rates ranging from 2.5 – 4.5%, and amortization of principle and interest deferred for the first year. Please note that the terms of this program may change before it is operationalized by the Fed. More information can be found here.

PRESERVING JOBS FOR AMERICAN INDUSTRY
The CARES Act assists eligible businesses looking for payroll support to keep Americans working. For more information, CLICK HERE.
The IRS rolled out a refundable tax credit that is 50 percent of up to $10,000 in wages paid by an eligible employer whose business has been financially impacted by COVID-19. For answers to frequently asked questions, CLICK HERE.

For more information, please review the following web summaries of the CARES Act:

US Senate Small Business Committee Summary 
National Law Review Summary
NPR CARES Act Summary  
CARES Act Bill Text 
CPA Advisor Summary