The present Coronavirus crisis has undoubtedly wreaked havoc on all our lives, impacting both our personal and professional worlds. The disruption has cascaded through pretty much all areas of the financial world leaving very few businesses escaping unscathed. Uncertainty has always been the enemy of financial stability and unfortunately, foundational questions about how long the recovery will take and what the future will look like post-crisis do not have clear answers. Understandably, this is a cause of worry and concern for many.
The coronavirus pandemic, also known as COVID-19, has been an exercise in dealing with uncertainty. Faced with mounting operating expenses and coupled with stagnate or even declining revenues, many small business owners and entrepreneurs turned to their trusted banking partner to apply for Federal assistance under the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program. In less than two weeks PPP funding was exhausted. Through April 16th, the SBA reported that it had approved approximately 1.7 million loans via 4,975 different lenders totaling $342 billion in aid. The average loan size was $206,000, with the vast majority of loans totaling $150,000 or less.
First and foremost, we hope you, your family and loved ones all stay safe and healthy during this troubled time.
As we all push through the stressful and ever-changing scenario forced upon us due to this COVID-19 crisis, we want you to know that we are here for you. This crisis has created a great deal of uncertainty in our day-to-day lives as well as in what the future will bring after the crisis has passed. Please think of our team at Baldwin & Clarke as a resource and a sounding board to help you work your way through this difficult time.
As you may already know, due to the COVID-19 emergency, the IRS has extended the 2019 tax filing deadline and the payment due date to July 15, 2020(1). However, please be aware that this extension does not automatically apply to income tax returns, tax payments and estimated taxes due for individual states. Below is a brief summary of our understanding of the filing and payment adjustments in place for the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.
