HUBZone companies owned by U.S. citizens will no longer be required to demonstrate that the ownership is “direct.”
The SBA’s HUBZone program rules have long required that a HUBZone company owned by U.S. citizens be at least 51% directly owned by those citizens – as opposed to allowing the qualifying citizens to own those interests through legal vehicles like holding companies. But the SBA has had second thoughts, and effective May 25, 2018, the direct ownership requirement will be eliminated.
In a direct final rule issued on March 26, the SBA writes that “[d]irect ownership is not statutorily mandated” by the portion of the Small Business Act governing the HUBZone program. The SBA has concluded that “the purposes of the HUBZone program – capital infusion in underutilized geographic areas and employment of individuals living in those areas – may be achieved whether ownership by U.S. citizens is direct or indirect.”
Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/hubzone-program/hubzone-program-sba-will-delete-direct-ownership-requirement/
Veteran-owned small businesses have long grappled with seemingly benign drafting inconsistencies between Small Business Administration (SBA) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regulations that can leave a business qualified as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) by VA standards, but not at the SBA (or vice versa).
The Court of Federal Claims recently issued an opinion that defines “unconditional ownership” of an SDVOSB in a more relaxed manner than the SBA, creating a split of authority on the issue.