Local small businesses may apply for aid

BONNERS FERRY— The CARES Act, signed into law on Friday, March 27, by President Donald Trump, offers economic relief for both individuals and businesses.

A bipartisan creation, the CARES Act, an acronym meaning Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, passed the House on Friday, March 27, by voice vote.

This piece of legislation builds upon the prior Families First Coronavirus Response Act, with more support to individuals and businesses.

“There are several businesses in the area that are applying to the SBA for disaster relief,” said Dennis Weed, Boundary County economic development director. “The SBA is, and has been, making modifications to programs and their application process. I encourage all businesses to visit the SBA site to review the loans and apply if they have an economic impact due to the COVID-19.”

In brief, CARES includes expanded unemployment insurance; whereas, workers will receive a $600 increase to their weekly benefits for up to four months; $350 billion allocated to help businesses with fewer than 500 employees to be able to pay their payroll and other expenses (small businesses can apply for up to $10 million in loans); and the $1,200 tax credit to individuals ($2,400 for joint taxpayers) and those taxpayers with children will receive an additional $500 per child.

There are three options for relief for any business, non-profit organization, veterans organization, or tribal business that employs less than 500 people or meets size standards; sole proprietors, independent contractors, and eligible self-employed individuals; nonprofits receiving Medicaid expenses are ineligible.

The SBA Express Loan has a turnaround time of just 36 hours and a cap of $1 million. The SBA 7(a) Loan has a turnaround time of two weeks and is capped at $10 million. The SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) has a cap of $2 million and a turnaround time of three to six months. The EIDL also allows advance cash grants of $10 thousand dollars and are available within three days.

“If small businesses have questions about the loans they can call the Small Business Development Center at NIC in Coeur d’Alene,” said Weed. “If they want to review all of the SBA products they can access them through [their website]. The SBA will update these sites with any changes.”

To review all SBA products please visit: https://bit.ly/39uFcZb

For more information on the small business loans please visit to contact the Small Business Development Center at North Idaho College at: idahosbdc.org/locations/north