Gov. Mills issued a new order July 8th that requires retailers with more than 50,000 feet of retail space, lodging businesses, restaurants, outdoor bars and tasting rooms in Waldo County & elsewhere around Maine to enforce an earlier state mandate for customers and staff to wear masks. State & Local licensing sanctions may be incurred – State Press Release, July 8, 2020
Gov. Mills has prepared a plan to gradually and safely restart Maine’s economy. The plan establishes four gradual stages of reopening, the first of which begins on May 1st. – April 28, 2020
FMI: contact Maine Dept of Economic & Community Development at 1-800-872-3838 or business.answers@maine.gov for more information.
City of Belfast issues update memo advising reasonable stay-at-home guidelines and self-quarantine if you recently traveled – May 6, 2020
Maine Dept of Labor has begun to enroll Self-Employed, Sole Proprietors & previously ineligible Mainers into the state & federal Unemployment Benefits program. – May 1, 2020
IRS Direct Payments to Citizens – To help everyone check the status of their Economic Impact Payment, the IRS is launching a tool that will provide the status of a payment, including the date it’s scheduled to be deposited or mailed. www.irs.gov/eip #COVIDreliefIRS – April 14, 2020
Also, for those who don’t normally file an IRS tax return, a new web tool will allow millions of people to quickly register for Economic Impact Payments www.irs.gov/eip
Bankruptcy Law changes – “How to navigate Congress’ changes to the bankruptcy code” – MaineBiz April 15, 2020
PPP Loan Forgiveness: Further Guidance on the Math – Verrill Dana LLP – April 14, 2020
Excellent SBDC summaryof PPP & EIDL (from the Maine Small Business Development Center) – April 14, 2020
Over 11,000 small businesses in Maine have qualified for $1.87 billion in payroll protection loans – Sen Susan Collins – April 13, 2020
Governor suspends all lodging businesses & orders travelers to self-quarantine – Portland Press Herald – April 4, 2020
Gov. Mills issues Executive Orderto Stay Healthy At Home plus other clarifications and restrictions – March 31, 2020
Congress has passed the CARES Act, a roughly $2 trillion intended to speed relief across the American economy. This is the third aid package from Congress and is meant to keep businesses and individuals afloat during an unprecedented freeze on the majority of American life. (passed March 27, 2020)
U.S. Chamber of Commerce has put together a detailed 12-page summary of what is included in the package that even includes links to the actual legislation – March 27, 2020
Gov. Mills ordersall non-essential businesses to close to the public and limit employee proximity – March 24, 2020
If the function of your business is not listed, but you believe that it is essential, you may request designation as an essential business at https://www.maine.gov/essentialservice .
Tax Filings – Following COVID-19 outbreak, Treasury and IRS have issued guidance on delaying tax payments until July 15 2020. You still need to file a return or request a filing extension by April 15. No additional filing is necessary for the payment extension. See www.irs.gov/coronavirus
Gov. Mills’ news sitehas all updates posted by the state
Where to eat, play, stay and just hang out. A great resource for finding out what’s happening and what’s special about visiting and living in Waldo County. It’s all here in the 2020 Belfast & the Wonders of Waldo County magazine—the official publication of the Belfast Area Chamber of Commerce!