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Although businesses throughout the country have been adversely affected, Connecticut stores have been especially hard-hit—in New York, New Jersey and the country as a whole, only a quarter of businesses have been forced to close their doors.
Restaurants have been hit the hardest—about 600 have shut down, temporarily or permanently, and all are currently limited to 50 percent capacity by the state's pandemic guidelines.
While the state plans to split $50 million using funds from the federal Cares Act between 10,000 struggling businesses, 20,000 business owners applied for the relief, and the program is no longer accepting new applications according to David Lehman, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.
With the "Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act," approved by the House and Senate on Monday, Dec. 21, and Gov. Ned Lamont announced on the same day that an additional $35 million would be distributed between struggling small and mid-sized businesses via federal monies, according to the Connecticut Business & Industry Association.
Grants from this program will range from $10,000 to $30,000, Lamont announced, and would be extended to 2,000 businesses that did not apply for earlier relief.
Eligible businesses, according to the CBIA, will be placed in a pool, with their grant amounts calculated using a formula based on NAICS codes, tax revenue, business tax filings and payroll data.
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