Effective October 8, 2020, the United States Small Business Administration streamlined the forgiveness process for Paycheck Protection Program borrowers with loans of $50,000 or less. The simplified forgiveness application permits these small PPP borrowers to disregard the penalties for reductions in full time equivalent employee headcounts or undo cuts in salaries and hourly wages, which will likely assure full forgiveness if these borrowers used up all of their PPP loan proceeds. These penalties for headcount and compensation cuts were previously major hurdles for small businesses struggling to open again. This ... (full story)