Everyone is wondering how the
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) eligibility rules will impact
multinational companies. The short answer: multinational companies
are eligible.
The key is the interaction of the affiliate rules and the limit
of 500 employees. These affiliate rules ostensibly include foreign
affiliates as there is not an exclusion of foreign affiliates.
According to the Interim Final Rule announced Thursday, "You
are eligible for a PPP loan if you have 500 or fewer employees
whose principal place of residence is in the United
States."
So even though the affiliate rules in the SBA's regulations
would look to foreign affiliates, it is doubtful that these foreign
affiliates would have employees whose principal place of residence
is in the United States. A foreign affiliate having employees with
a principal place of residence in the United States would be bad
tax planning, but that is another issue for another day.
