|
(8) COVID-19
On
March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19” or “virus”) as a global pandemic. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts the Company’s results will depend on future
developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information, COVID mutations and variants which may emerge, and the speed and effectiveness of vaccinations. The Company has been operating remotely
without any significant disruption of operations. To date, the Company’s data providers have provided an uninterrupted stream of information, thus enabling the Company to deliver its product. The Company is actively monitoring the
renewal rates of its current customers and those that subscribed after the outbreak.
In response to COVID-19, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was enacted on
March 27, 2020. The CARES Act provides numerous tax provisions and other stimulus measures, including temporary changes regarding the prior and future utilization of net operating losses, temporary changes to the prior and future
limitations on interest deductions, temporary suspension of certain payment requirements for the employer portion of Social Security taxes, technical corrections from prior tax legislation for tax depreciation of certain qualified
improvement property, and the creation of certain refundable employee retention credits. Additionally, the CARES Act contains relief for small businesses through several new temporary programs, one of which is the Paycheck
Protection Program (“PPP”). The PPP is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. The Small Business Administration (“SBA”) will forgive loans if all employees are kept
on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent or utilities. The Company applied for a loan under this program and has received $1.56 million. The SBA provides a “safe harbor” for borrowers and has deemed certifications regarding the necessity of the loan to have been made in good faith
for borrowers of less than $2 million. The PPP loan is scheduled to mature on April 15, 2022, has a 1.00% interest rate, may be prepaid at any time without penalty and is subject to the terms and conditions applicable to all loans
made pursuant to the PPP as administered by the SBA under the CARES Act. The loan and accrued interest is forgivable after eight weeks so long as the Company uses the loan proceeds for eligible purposes, including payroll,
benefits, rent and utilities, and maintains its payroll levels. The “PPP” was amended on June 5, 2020 by the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, which stated that payments are deferred until the date on which the amount
of forgiveness determined is remitted to the lender, with a maximum deferral of up to 16 months. The President signed
the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 (the “CAA”) into law on December 27, 2020. The new COVID-19 legislation enhances and expands certain aspects of the CARES Act, most notably allowing borrowers to select their covered period
to meet payroll and qualified expense requirements between 8 and 24 weeks. In accordance with the requirements for forgiveness of the PPP loan under the CARES Act, the Company has used the entire proceeds from the PPP loan for
eligible payroll, benefits, rent, utility costs, and maintained its employment levels. The lender of this loan started accepting applications for forgiveness during the first quarter of 2021, and the Company has applied for
forgiveness by the deadline set forth by the lender. The current portion of this loan, including interest that is due within the next 12 months is $1,561,500. The Company is waiting on the review process to be completed by the lender and the SBA.
|