Name: Paycheck Protection Act a headache for some Missoula businesses
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Paycheck Protection Act a headache for some Missoula businesses

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Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily.Please subscribe to keep reading. You can cancel at any time.Loading&amp;hellp;{{title}}{{description}}{{banner}}(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax){{tagline}}{{special_title}}{{html}}You have permission to edit this article.© 2022 Lee EnterprisesShare ThisPaycheck Protection Act a headache for some Missoula businessesShare thisRobin Dent is worried about sole proprietors' inability to receive money from the Paycheck Protect Program to stay afloat. Dent owns Sound Healing, a therapy business on Higgins Avenue, and works as the only employee. This week, the Montana Department of Labor and Industry announced that independent contractors, the self-employed and gig workers can file for pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits.Shelly Wilson owns a nail salon on South Third Street West. Wilson applied for the Paycheck Protection Program and has been denied as she is the only employee of her business.&nbsp;Some Missoula business owners are expressing frustration and confusion over the , a federal economic stimulus program designed to help them get through hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic.In essence, Missoula small retail and restaurant owners say they can't compete with the $600 weekly check from the federal government and state benefits being sent to people who have lost work hours due to COVID-19. The federal money has become a disincentive for many workers to come back to work.&nbsp;Because the $600 from the federal government is added on top of state unemployment benefits, many low-wage workers such as those in retail and food service are apparently making more money than they would if they were to be rehired.“We got the PPP loan, but it’s wrought with questions and there doesn’t seem to be a definitive source to answer those questions,” said Bruce Micklus, owner of Rockin Rudy’s, a retail store with gifts, music and all kinds of other items. “I’ve heard it’s either the greatest thing since sliced bread or it’s a poison pill.”Part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES)&nbsp;Act, the U.S. Small Business Administration managed Payroll Protection Act&nbsp;loans for qualifying organizations with fewer than 500 employees. The first pot of money ran out quickly, but that replenished the program.One of the main concerns Micklus has is that the money has to be spent in just eight weeks, and 75% of the money has to be used on payroll. The other 25% can be used for things such as rent and utilities.Micklus said even bankers and accountants can’t give him much guidance on the program. He’s concerned that if he doesn’t use the money in the right way, the loan won’t be forgiven and he’ll be in debt without the employee productivity to make up for it.“You’ve got till the 30th of June to rehire everyone,” he said. “We figured out how many full time equivalents we have, and they all have to be on the payroll on June 30th or you don’t qualify (for loan forgiveness). I don’t mind paying people their salaries and not even having them be here if eventually in 30 days they’re going to be here. But if we’re not going to be open then there’s not work for 31 full-time employees.”He said there’s too many variables with the program and not a lot of answers.“If you have a company that is deemed essential and didn’t lay anybody off, the PPP is going to pay salaries for the next two months,” he said. “So (those companies) are getting 100% credit and 100% work. Whereas I don’t know if I’m going to get the credit and I’m certainly not going to get anywhere near the productivity that some businesses can. So for some businesses and businesses in the retail sector, it’s not what it’s made out to be.”Micklus also said that some of his employees are making more than they ever have in their lives with the state and federal unemployment benefits, so they don’t want to get back on the payroll and lose that.“Some of them are making more than me and I’m working,” he said. “It’s fantastic for them. But if I have to call them and offer them a job back, that means they’re not going to get unemployment and there goes that $600 (per week) bonus. That’s the conundrum, and that’s where the government screwed up."He doesn't fault the workers."I’m glad to see everyone get as much as they possibly could, but I can’t wait because I have to spend this money in eight weeks or I’m not going to get credit.”Micklus is mainly concerned about unintended consequences."If you weren’t making a lot of money, operating paycheck to paycheck, and the government gives you $600 a week you would be loving it," he said. "But I come along and say, 'Sorry I got to hire you back,' due to all these rules and regulations it's really created situation where it’s a Catch-22. I'm caught between a rock and a hard place."Listen now and subscribe: | | | | |Jason McMackin, an owner of the Burns St. Bistro restaurant in Missoula, said they got the loan as well but are now concerned with the same problems Micklus mentioned."The PPP is great for places where everyone can work from home, but it's terrible for a restaurant or a place that can't open or can only open on limited capacity," he said. "So they need to get rid of the eight weeks stipulation or start the clock on payments like three weeks after you open."He said they could possibly hire everyone back to deep clean while they're shut down, but employees are wary of that because they're locked in with unemployment benefits right now and that provides certainty.McMackin also said the guidelines on the program were "incredibly confusing" and kept changing."Hopefully we get most (of the PPP loan forgiven)," he said. "We don't have any intention of opening in any major capacity in the next couple weeks."On Wednesday, the Independent Restaurant Coalition slammed the U.S. Senate's replenishment of the PPP without fixing underlying problems."Changes to the Paycheck Protection Program, like moving the origination date of the loan to when restaurants can legally operate, are necessary to ensure restaurants can afford to reopen and rehire our workers," the coalition said in a statement.Tom Snyder, the owner of Five-On-Black restaurants in Missoula, said he avoided the PPP altogether and is using the , a refundable&nbsp;tax credit&nbsp;against certain employment taxes."The employee retention tax credit doesn't get talked about nearly as much because it doesn't work for some businesses, but for a big chunk of businesses it does work," he said.Colin Boyle, a Certified Public Accountant in Missoula, said the Paycheck Protection Program came without a lot of guidance and was fairly confusing for people in his industry as well as bankers and business owners.&nbsp;Robin Dent owns Sound Healing, a therapy business in downtown Missoula. She's concerned that not enough is being done to protect sole proprietors, meaning business owners without employees to pay.She noted that Big Dipper Ice Cream owner Charlie Beaton and Logjam Presents owner Nick Checota are members of Gov. Steve Bullock's Coronavirus Relief Fund Task Force. The task force will be led by Larry Simkins of the Washington Companies and will provide guidance and advice on how to best use $1.25 billion given to Montana from the CARES Act."I hope they find a way to get it in the hands of sole proprietors, and not just big companies," Dent said.&nbsp;Shelly Wilson, who owns her own nail salon in Missoula, said she's had to shut down and doesn't believe the government is looking out for one-person businesses. She's had problems getting stimulus funds from the federal government and state benefits."I have never had to take anything from anybody," she said. "I'm 56 years old and I've been working since I was 15 and I'm starting to freak out because I don't know how long this is going to last."The bottom line, according to Snyder, is a lot of small business owners haven't had the time and resources to carefully read the CARES Act and may not know what they're getting into."There are a lot of little caveats that might leave a lot of people with debt they can't service," he said. "And a lot of places already have debt, so when you add on to that one to four months, it's a pain point in the business and that could turn into years of debt service we can't handle. People haven't had time to make decisions."Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily.Robin Dent is worried about sole proprietors' inability to receive money from the Paycheck Protect Program to stay afloat. Dent owns Sound Healing, a therapy business on Higgins Avenue, and works as the only employee. This week, the Montana Department of Labor and Industry announced that independent contractors, the self-employed and gig workers can file for pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits.Shelly Wilson owns a nail salon on South Third Street West. Wilson applied for the Paycheck Protection Program and has been denied as she is the only employee of her business.&nbsp;{{title}}{{summary}}You don't have any notifications.Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.Topics

Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily.Please subscribe to keep reading. You can cancel at any time.Loading&amp;hellp;{{title}}{{description}}{{banner}}(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax){{tagline}}{{special_title}}{{html}}You have permission to edit this article.© 2022 Lee EnterprisesShare ThisPaycheck Protection Act a headache for some Missoula businessesShare thisRobin Dent is worried about sole proprietors' inability to receive money from the Paycheck...

Paycheck Protection Act a headache for some Missoula businesses

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