Earlier this month, President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Flexibility Act into law. This legislation contains provisions that seek to ease loan forgiveness in the PPP while providing more time and flexibility for how recipients use these funds. This is the fifth COVID-related measure passed by Congress since the virus outbreak.
Specifically, the bill touches on loan forgiveness by extending the covered period from eight to twenty-four weeks during which a recipient can use their loan towards forgivable expenses.
Additionally, it includes two new exceptions for borrowers to receive full PPP loan forgiveness even if their workforce is not fully restored:
- if the recipient is unable to rehire former or similarly qualified employees
- if the recipient is unable to return to the same level of business activity due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Furthermore, the bill contains language on use of funds. Initially, borrowers could have up to 25 percent of their forgiveness come from non-payroll costs, now it is up to 40 percent. Finally, the bill extends the PPP program expiration from June 30 to December 31, 2020.
You can find more information on the PPP program here.
The eBay Government Relations team will continue to monitor this situation closely and provide regular updates.