SBA reveals full list of recipients of PPP loans

HARRISBURG – Data released by the Small Business Administration Tuesday reveal which Pennsylvania businesses and groups shared $5 billion in loans of under $150,000, provided through the federal Paycheck Protection Program.

The program provided those loans to 146,000 state businesses, an average of just under $35,000 per business.

Previously, the SBA announced $15 billion in loans worth more than $150,000 had gone to 26,000 businesses, an average of $577,000.

The SBA initially refused to release the names of businesses that obtained loans of less than $150,000. The Associated Press and other news organizations sued to force it to disclose the names of the businesses that received the smaller loan amounts. In November, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg agreed, saying there was “significant public interest in shedding light” on who got the Paycheck Protection Program loans.

The release comes as Congress is debating whether to pass another round of federal stimulus and whether that would mean another round of the Paycheck Protection Program.

Leaders of statewide business groups said they think the first round of PPP loans were vitally important to help businesses survive the pandemic economic slowdown and said another round of loans are needed now.

“It was literally the lifeline that kept thousands of businesses afloat,” said Gordon Denlinger, state director for the National Federation of Independent Businesses in Pennsylvania.

Another round of PPP funds is needed because “with the resurgence of COVID-19, businesses are seeing revenue fall again. It’s make or break time for many of them,” he said.

Just more than 25% of the businesses that got loans of less than $150,000 in Pennsylvania listed zero or didn’t submit an answer to explain how many jobs the loans were supposedly helping to save.

About 72% of the loans under $150,000 went to businesses that said the loans saved 25 or fewer jobs. A total of 30,100 businesses indicated that the loan was saving one job.

More than 3,500 state businesses got loans worth more than $1 million, while 103 businesses and other entities took out PPP loans worth exactly $150,000.

The PPP loans helped struggling independent restaurants, as well as regional chains affiliated with national brand names, said John Longstreet, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association.

“We’ve had many restaurants take advantage of it,” Longstreet said. The hospitality industry would prefer to see the federal government give them targeted grants, similar to those provided to the airline industry, Longstreet said.

He added though that he’s not optimistic that grants directed to help restaurants will be included in the next round of federal stimulus so getting more PPP loans would be the best alternative.

Denlinger said that the federal government also should move to undo a new IRS determination that will likely mean that businesses that took out PPP loans could get an unpleasant surprise when they do their taxes.

Two weeks ago, the IRS handed down guidance indicating that business expenses paid using PPP loans can’t be used as deductions for tax purposes.

That decision “will result in a tax hit” for many businesses that took out PPP loans, he said. Business groups have been lobbying to get Congress to quickly pass legislation to reverse the IRS guidance, he said. At this point, there’s no obvious indication that Congress is going to act on it, Denlinger said.