Mnuchin Declines to Extend Main Street Lending Program: Commentary

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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asked the Fed to continue for another 90 days programs that provided short-term “commercial paper” loans to businesses, as well as another for money market functioning and a backstop related to the Paycheck Protection Program. However, Mnuchin also asked that other programs that were supported by Treasury capital come to an end for now. They include two facilities that bought corporate bonds as well as the Main Street Lending Program, which was targeted towards small- and medium-sized businesses.

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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hurt small businesses, one tax expert says it would be unwise to end the program now and say's changes need to be made for the program to work...

Julio Gonzalez, CEO of Engineered Tax Services notes the following.

Julio's Thoughts On Mnuchin Declining to Extend Main Street Lending

  • The hard work is done and it took a long time to get his package setup. Now it's a matter of getting people to utilize it. Low participation was a problem with the Main Street Lending program because the requirements and rules were difficult for small businesses at the onset. After they clarified the requirements, the program's changes never got marketed. How are small businesses able to take advantage of a program if they are confused by it?
  • The Main Street program doesn't go through the SBA but rather through the Treasury. Small businesses never go through Treasury so combine an uncertain pandemic, complex rules and requirements, and a bureaucracy you don't understand and you wind up with low participation. In order to make the program available for small businesses who need help now, they should incorporate the Main Street program into the SBA this way more small businesses can navigate the process in a system they are familiar with.
  • The Main Street program does have forgiveness, but currently, there is confusion over what can be expensed. That's all in the HEROS Act and maybe the next administration will include better guidelines so these programs can be more transparent. Getting rid of the Main Street program when the pandemic is still going on would not be wise. Businesses need as much help from the government as they can get.

About Julio Gonzalez:

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Julio GonzalezMr. Julio P. Gonzalez founded the Gonzalez Family Office and is the CEO and Founder of Engineered Tax Services, Inc. (ETS). ETS is the country’s largest specialty tax engineering firm which specializes in the preservation of wealth and United States’ job creation through IRS engineering-based services to include research and development manufacturing tax credit and grant studies, energy tax incentives studies, cost segregation deprecation studies for buildings, Opportunity Zone studies, real estate state and local incentive studies and alternative tax optimization studies.