Summary of COVID-19 SBA and Tax Relief Programs Under the CARES Act

Since March 13, 2020 the United States has been operating under a State of Emergency declared by President Donald Trump in response to the spread of COVID-19. On March 27, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. The economic stimulus package in the CARES Act (as amended by the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act on April 24) provides three sets of benefits for businesses and certain nonprofits likely to be of importance to corporations and sponsors and their portfolio companies:

(1) programs administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under Title I of the CARES Act providing expanded eligibility and payroll support for small businesses (generally those with fewer than 500 employees);

(2) lending programs administered by the Federal Reserve (Fed) under Title IV of the CARES Act intended to ensure the stabilization and continued functioning of the short- and medium-term corporate debt markets; and

(3) tax relief provisions intended to provide taxpayers with access to cash as quickly as possible.

The following table summarizes the SBA programs and tax relief provisions referenced above at items 1 and 3, respectively. The Fed programs referenced at item 2 above may be found in a companion Sidley Update available here.

The programs described herein are developing in an emergency context with highly fluid, dynamic economic effects that will force them to change rapidly and in substantive ways. This chart was prepared based on information available as of May 12, 2020, and should be relied on only as of such date.

An overview of the main governmental aid programs aimed at supporting businesses in Western Europe and Scandinavia can be accessed here. For a catalog of all alerts and communications regarding new developments, please visit the COVID-19 Resource Center on sidley.com. This is the best place to find all of the most current information on what the firm is saying about COVID-19 as the content continues to evolve and the webpages are updated regularly.

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