ENGLEWOOD — As a financial first responder, Mark Knauf estimates his office helped infuse $14 million in successful loans into the Englewood area after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down small businesses in March.
“There are stories about abuse of the loans during the first round, but I have stories of close to 100 businesses in Englewood who were able to stay open with our help,” said Knauf.
In April, Knauf paid the small team at his accounting firm for 200 hours of work while he gave 600 hours for free as a way of helping businesses.
“We filed paperwork, crunched numbers, filed forms and stayed with each client until they were assigned a number and given the loan,” said the 25-year certified public account. “I didn’t charge a single nickel.”
When the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Treasury extended the tax deadline from April 15 to July 15, Knauf felt a sense of relief. But things changed 90 minutes later, when Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the state was shutting down to try to control the pandemic’s outbreak in Florida.
“We thought we could take a break. But then were told, by the way, the economy is going to collapse,” he said. “My customers didn’t know what to do. They asked for help.”
He and his team provided that help.
“Now there may be a round three of loans for some smaller businesses,” he said.
For weeks, Knauf and his team worked on the Economy Injury Disaster and Payroll Protection Program loans. He explained how businesses could be forgiven for the debt if they followed government guidelines.
“During tax season, Mark himself sees 30 clients a day,” said longtime office manager Kathy O’Connell. “Mark set aside the 900 income tax customers and helped business owners. But we had to make the shift. We started out doing everything curbside to be safe. Now that things are getting back to normal, we allow one client in at a time.”
O’Connell said it was heartbreaking at times, because clients needed their taxes filed so they could get their returns and help with the bills.
“Some would call, crying that they weren’t getting their unemployment and their taxes weren’t done yet by us,” she said. “We met Sara Lacroix with The Claims Navigator, Inc. She rented space for us and we began helping people with their unemployment. Resources were falling into place.”
Knauf, a longtime Englewood resident, a business owner, and Treasurer of the Englewood Chamber of Commerce, said his recent successes ranged from the mom-and-pop owners getting $1,000 to a much larger business receiving $895,000.
“I knocked it out of the park with the really big loan — it was a win for Englewood,” he said. “But you didn’t have to be elite in this town to get help. I worked with sole proprietors, carpenters, plumbers, landscapers. Just about any business apart from Publix and Walmart who got to stay open through a loan was because my employees worked so hard to help them. We were financial first responders who never closed.”
TAX TIPS
Knauf said after working 16-hour days, he’s back to working on tax returns. He said anyone who received a stimulus check doesn’t have to claim it on their taxes next year. However, anyone who has one for a deceased relative should void it.
“Don’t cash it,” he said. “The IRS will come calling. They did issue checks to dead people because of those on the Social Security rolls. You have no rights to a dead person’s money.”
He said anyone who is owes the IRS should pay it by July 15 with no penalties.
“This is a one-time gift, given by the government,” he said. “Usually if you owe $2,000 and need an extension, you are charged interest and now owe $2,300. That’s not the case this year.”
Knauf cautions anyone who made a lot of money in 2019 and didn’t file taxes yet to get a stimulus check based on 2018 numbers is taking a gamble.
“You may have to give back that money if you are audited,” he said. “I’ve only had a handful of people who wanted their taxes done after they received a stimulus check. There’s a risk if you received money that you don’t qualify for, because the IRS will want it back.”
Last week, Rosario Caradonna thanked Knauf for his services.
“I’m a new customer here,” he said. “I had a great accountant in New York and haven’t had a good one since I met Mark. I’m really very happy. I won’t go anywhere else.”
Knauf said as a resident of Englewood since 1995, whose daughter is a Lemon Bay High School graduate, he was doing his part for the community.
“If you’re not giving back and only taking from this community, you are part of the problem,” he said. “I’ve worked hard to build my business here and my clients supported me. There’s no way I couldn’t give back. I did what was necessary to fix my neighborhood. In the face of adversity, we were true champions.”
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