News Release: Staying in Phase 2, Good to Go, PPP, and TN Business Relief Program

Phase 3 of reopening delayed

Officials announced Thursday morning that Nashville would not be moving into the next phase of reopening. We are currently in the second phase of a four-phase reopening plan. In phase two, bars and clubs remain closed and restaurants and stores can operate at 75% capacity. Barbershops and museums can open at half capacity. Nashville began this stage on May 25 and could have progressed to the next stage as early as Monday, according to the mayor’s reopening plan. Officials delayed the transition on Monday and again on Thursday and haven't said when they expect to proceed.

We have heard from many members about this plan, and all have been struggling with it. Some are able to be open but not at a capacity that makes it worth being open, others are not yet allowed to open until phase 3. We have taken the concerns and questions to the Mayor and Helth Department. We are working to find you answers and relief, we know today’s decision will continue to make things difficult. 

Cases are still increasing and COVD-19 is still with us. We need to recommit to stopping the spread so that we move forward and not backward. 

One of the ways you can help slow the spread, be safe being open, or get ready to open safely is participate in the- 

Good to Go Program

We wanted to remind you that the Good to Go program is up and running! Thank you to those who have already joined. There have been over 500 businesses that have signed up; located across the entire city, representing a wide variety of industries – hotels, restaurants, daycares, small businesses, gyms, attractions, and many more. 

Good to Go is a program created by the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp, in conjunction with Vanderbilt Health and Ryman Hospitality, to provide coronavirus resources, information, and support from leading infectious disease experts to help you and your business confidently and safely reopen. This is a free program and we are asking for our members to help send the message to both locals and visitors that Nashville is a city that takes health and safety seriously.

If you have not been able to participate, please know there is still time! Simply watch this webinar. When you have completed that you can sign the participation pledge at goodtogonashville.com/businesses/participant-pledge.

Following the completion of signing the pledge and watching the webinar your business will receive the Good to Go Toolkit which includes the green music note decal for your door. Place it with pride next to your Chamber OPEN and EQUAL membership sticker and show them you re good to go and an LGBT Chamber member.  

If we can answer any questions about the program please don’t hesitate to reach out by emailing goodtogo@visitmusiccity.com.

Paycheck Protection Program

Sweeping changes to the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program were signed into law last week, making the program's lending terms more favorable to restaurants, retailers, and other businesses. The Treasury and SBA released a joint statement providing additional clarifications to PPP flexibility. 

There is a PPP webinar tomorrow that you can sign up for to find out more. 

Tennessee Business Relief Program

Today, the TN Chambers of Commerce held a webinar on the TN Business Relief Program with Revenue Commissioner David Gerragano. The program outlined the new relief program that will be funded with $200M of state tax dollars that were set-aside in the budget earlier this year.  Here are the highlights of the program:

The program focuses on relief for small businesses, mainly targeting the retail sector, that were closed by the Governor's executive order in the month of April. There is not an application process to participate; instead the state will be using a business' NAICS federal code to target relief to the list of certain types of businesses (i.e. gyms, restaurants, bars, etc. Full listing is on the TN Dept of Revenue's website). They will also consider businesses that may not fit into a category but lost more than 25% of sales based on their tax filings.  Only businesses with gross sales revenue under $10M will be included in the program (a company that has multiple locations will be considered as one entity).  Estimates are that 70% of the eligible businesses are under $500K in annual gross sales and that demonstrates a commitment to helping smaller businesses recover.  

Payments will range from $2,500- 30,000 depending on the size of sales for the business. 

These are not finalized but the payment schedule is likely:

Sales of Business/ Payment-  $0-100k = $2,500; $100-500K = $5,000; $500K- 1M = $10,000; $1- 5M = $20,000; $5-10M =$30,000

Payments will be direct-deposited into accounts that have filed and maintain their banking information with TN Dept of Revenue.  Many businesses do this already for sales and other tax filings/ payments. The Commissioner recommended checking to make sure your TNTAP account is updated. Businesses can do that here.

If a business is eligible and does not maintain their information online, then they will receive checks in the mail which may delay payments.  

They are continuing to work toward a 1st week of July delivery of payments but that is not finalized.

If a business has questions about their eligibility, NAICS codes, or other items, it was recommended that you file a Help Desk request at the TN Dept of Revenue website. They will work through questions and try to work with businesses that may not fit neatly in a category. You can do that here. 

If a business is designated solely as a manufacturer, they are not eligible for this particular program. If the manufacturer has several aspects to its business, then the business should be eligible as long as the TN Dept of Revenue has that information listed as part of its NAICS codes or if it's verified by retail sales tax records.  If in doubt, they recommend contacting the Help Desk for a request.  

These payments are considered grants, not loans, and are not required to be repaid. If a business is structured as a sole proprietorship, LLC or LLP, the payments should not be considered taxable; for corporations, it will depend upon their classification for federal taxes to determine if they are taxable or not.  Additional guidance may be coming on this.  

If you need further information, I would recommend reaching out via the Help Desk email on the TN Dept of Revenue's website for the TN Business Relief Program.