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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 4, 2020)
8A | SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2020 | SIUSLAW NEWS Businesses and Industries Airlines Under the CARES Act, for passenger airlines, the bill includes $25 billion in direct funding for worker VDODULHV DQG EHQH¿WV DV well as up to $25 billion in loans and loan guaran- tees. The bill hews to what airlines had been asking for. Carriers had lobbied aggressively for direct grants rather than just loans, warning that with- out an immediate infusion of cash, they would have to make sharp job cuts. The bill also includes ELOOLRQ LQ DVVLVWDQFH to keep paying contract workers that provide air- line catering, baggage loading, ticketing and check-in, and other ser- vices at airports. Cargo airlines will be eligible to receive $4 billion in loans and guarantees, and $4 bil- lion in payroll assistance. In exchange for the payroll grants, carriers must agree not to fur- lough, lay off or cut pay for employees until Sept. $VVLVWDQFHDOVRKLQJHV on companies agreeing not to buy back shares or pay dividends, and to limits on executive compensation. The package also allows the Transportation Depart- ment to direct airlines to PDLQWDLQ VSHFL¿F ÀLJKWV based on their schedules on March 1, before carriers had instituted the deepest FXWV WR WKHLU À\LQJ 7KLV would include services to rural communities and to support delivery of health- care-related cargo. Banks The CARES Act delays implementation of a new accounting rule that would have required banks to sock away reserves for any estimated loan losses all at once, instead of spreading them out over the life of the loan. The Act gives the RI¿FHRIWKHFRPSWUROOHURI the currency the authority to allow banks to make loans that would typically trip up size restrictions. Smaller community banks with less than $10 billion in assets get more lending ÀH[LELOLW\WKURXJKDKLJKHU maximum leverage ratio and more wiggle room if they exceed it. Banks will also get more leeway on how they account for troubled consumer loans, allowing them to work with struggling borrowers who have fallen behind on their payments. Energy The CARES Act con- tains no major provisions WRVSHFL¿FDOO\DLGWKH86 energy industry. Belea- guered U.S. oil produc- ers had sought a range of remedies, including preferential tax treatment, GLUHFWVXEVLGLHVDQGD billion purchase of oil by the federal govern- ment for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The renewable energy industry had sought extensions to tax provisions that would have helped wind-and- solar developers secure valuable tax credits even if there were construction delays. Farmers The CARES Act directs more than $48 billion to agriculture and nutrition programs, helping cushion the blow for producers reeling from the latest in a string of hits to the U.S. farm economy, as prices sank for corn, soybeans, wheat and cattle. The law designates $14 billion to replenish the Com- modity Credit Corp., a Depression-era program designed to stabilize farm incomes, and $9.5 billion to support producers of specialty crops, livestock and dairy, as well as those who supply farmers markets, restaurants and schools. Health industry The CARES Act adds $27 billion to an emer- gency fund that could give a boost to dozens of proj- ects by pharmaceutical companies and academic groups developing drugs and vaccines against coro- navirus. The emergency fund received a smaller amount of funding under a coronavirus response act signed earlier in March. There is no COVID-19 vaccine, but dozens are in development. The pack- age allows the government to take steps to ensure that products developed with the emergency funding will be “affordable in the commercial market,” but that these steps shouldn’t delay development of the products. The bill also includes provisions to increase reporting of potential shortages from drug man- ufacturers and companies that make active phar- maceutical ingredients, which are the building blocks of prescription drugs. Many of these raw materials are produced overseas and drawn more attention during the virus outbreak. Companies that make respirators and other medical devices would be required to report to the federal government potential supply chain interruptions. Hotels The hotel industry last week asked the White House for a $150 billion financial-aid package, WDUJHWHG VSHFL¿FDOO\ IRU hospitality companies. What it got instead from the CARES Act is a patch- work of loans, grants and tax help, much of it WKURXJKWKHELOOLRQLQ loans and grants for small businesses. The majority of U.S. hoteliers qualify as businesses with fewer than 500 employees, mak- LQJOHVVWKDQPLOOLRQ in annual revenue. The lodging industry even scored a victory in getting language in the 6HQDWH ELOO WKDW GH¿QHG each individual hotel as its own business. Hotel own- ers with several properties had been concerned that they would not qualify as a small business because taken together, all their properties would have pushed them over the cur- rent Small Business Ad- PLQLVWUDWLRQ¶VGH¿QLWLRQ The federal boost in unemployment insurance will help the many hotel employees who have been furloughed across the U.S. Larger hotel companies can apply for loans through the Treasury Department’s economic stabilization fund. But few in the lodg- ing industry expect travel to bounce back by late spring, or even soon after. Postal Service Under the CARES Act, the financially strained U.S. Postal Service is get- ting a $10 billion Treasury loan to help the mail car- rier during the pandemic. That should be welcome news for Amazon.com Inc., United Parcel Service Inc. and, to a lesser extent, FedEx Corp., which rely on postal workers for last- mile delivery in certain places. The Postal Service is only allowed by law to UDLVH LWV QHW GHEW E\ billion a year, so the bill loosens that restriction. But it does come with some strings attached. Mainly, the Postal Service can RQO\XVHWKH¿QDQFLQJIRU operating expenses and not to pay down outstanding debt. The bill also requires the Postal Service to pri oritize medical shipment and allows temporary delivery points to protec workers and recipient of mail. Private equity According to the CARES Act, private HTXLW\ ¿UPV ZLOO OLNHO\ ¿QGLWDFKDOOHQJHWRJH access to stimulus funds Based on available detail of the stimulus pack age, private-equity-owned businesses wouldn’t be explicitly barred from receiving assistance. Bu government lending re quirements could preven them from unlocking the aid, say lawyers, lobbyist and regulatory experts. Railroads Per the CARES Act, na tional passenger railroad Amtrak secured abou $1 billion to cover rev enue losses related to the coronavirus. The railroad industry won enhanced unemployment benefit that account for its work ers not being covered under traditional state-run unemployment programs Railroad workers instead receive unemploymen EHQH¿WVXQGHUDSURJUDP administered by the Rail road Retirement Board. The bill removes a seven-day waiting period to collect unemploymen and provides $50 million WRFRYHUWKHEHQH¿WVWLHG to that waiver. It also provides $425 million to double biweekly unem ployment payments to $1,200 through July. Small businesses The CARES Act would allow businesses and nonprofits with up to 500 workers in a single location to apply through qualifying banks for loan backed by the Small Busi ness Administration. The loans would convert into grants that don’t have to be repaid for amounts spen on items such as payroll rent or utilities, with the grants reduced when workers are laid off. The loans would be capped at $10 million and cove wages up to $100,000 a year. H olloway & A ssociates, LLC Karla D. Holloway CPA Rick Yecny, CPA We are sorry, but for the safety of our clients as well as our staff , we are not accepting appointments as our offi ce is temporarily closed to foot traffi c due to social distancing. Feel free to drop off your taxes in the slot in our door or call us, we are still working on tax returns. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to all our customers. Th ank you for your understanding. Holloway and Associates. Certifi ed Public Accountants • 733 Highway 101, Florence • Ph #541-997-3434 Rod McCulloch CPA Andrea Dexter CPA
