Government support schemes for COVID-19

Emergency Assistance Program for Work and Production
The program includes the postponement or reduction of up to 95% of the payment of employer contributions. The amount of the allowance for the Complementary Salary will be equivalent to 50% of the worker's net salary for the month of February 2020.

There is a zero-rate credit for the Simplified Regime for Small Taxpayers and for self-employed workers.

The comprehensive unemployment benefits system is for workers who meet the requirements set forth in Laws Nos. 24,013 and 25,371. 

Expansion of the Emergency Assistance Program
The Emergency Assistance Program measures have been expanded to include more benefits for SMEs and self-employed individuals, a comprehensive system of unemployment, and a simplified reduction of planned employer contributions. The package of measures may be extended until 30 June or until 30 October. 

Extension of deadline for debt renegotiation with creditors
The Argentine government issued an extension of the $ 68 billion debt renegotiation deadline with international creditors to 22 May 2020.

Extension of suspension of protective measures for SMEs
The Federal Administration of Public Revenues has extended the suspension of the application of liens and other precautionary measures for micro, small and medium enterprises.

New economic measures
From March 18 to 31, procedural terms in tax, social security and customs matters will not be computed. This measure does not imply the extension in maturities and payments of tax obligations, which continue to operate as usual.

National Tax Authority (AFIP) can only be accessed with a web appointment. Many procedures are available on the AFIP website.

There is a temporary exemption for employer contributions for the most affected sectors, public entertainment, food services and passenger transport companies. The Productive Recovery Program is expanded to include a subsidy for the payment of salaries. There are credits and a digital program for SMEs to promote telework.

Regulation of credits of the ATP program
The Board of Directors of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) approved the implementation of Subsidized Rate Credits for Companies, within the framework of Decree 332/2020 that established the Emergency Assistance Program for Work and Production.

The entities of the financial system must grant this line to all companies that request it, provided that they are included in the list of beneficiaries disclosed by the Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP).

The funds must be credited to the workers' salary accounts within a period of up to 5 business days from the moment the request is received.

The interest rate will be determined based on the interannual variation in the company's turnover in relation to the same period of the previous year"

Zero rate credit scheme
The Federal Administration of Public Revenues has given access to the Zero Rate Credit Scheme for monotributors and self-employed workers as a relief measure.

Export hub grants to help businesses
10 export hubs from 5 states will receive more than $4.9 million under the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Export Hubs Initiative. The grants are being provided under round 2 of the SME Export Hubs Initiative and include funding for hubs located across Australia, including Nowra, Hobart, and Perth.

The SME Export Hubs Initiative provides each successful hub with matched funding of up to $1.5 million for projects up to 2 years.

Funding to help small businesses revive and thrive
The Small Business Relief Fund aims to help small businesses adapt and innovate in order to emerge from this challenging period in a strong position.

The grants will be offered as a one off payment of $10,000 (including GST) to 67 businesses across Australia that:
are a for-profit business with an Australian Business Number (ABN); have between 2 and 50 employees; have been in business since 1 March 2018; have an annual revenue between $150,000 and $2 million.

New Tourism and Hospitality Support Package
The ACT Government’s new Tourism and Hospitality Support Package is designed to protect and create local jobs through:

• The formation of a Tourism Cooperative Marketing Fund.
• Further tax relief for Canberra's hotel and hospitality industry through rebates and fee relief.
• Increased funding for community events and support staff to deliver the current Events ACT calendar of events throughout the year.
• Support for a physical distancing technology pilot to help position Canberra to attract new business events in the current environment.

Support for the tourism industry and jobs
The WA Government has launched a $14.4 million recovery package to support small tourism operators. The $10.4 million Tourism Recovery Fund provides one-off cash grants of $6500 to up to 1600 individual small businesses around the State.

The remaining $4 million has been put towards a Tourism Business Survival Grants package, which provides grants of $25,000 to $100,000 for tourism operators.

Commercial tenancy relief
The government has developed a scheme that provides relief for business tenants and owner-operated commercial properties in three categories depending on how operations have been affected. Support is being provided through ensuring that the deferral or waiver of rates is targeted based on need and will be targeted at properties with small AUVs.

Commercial landlords will need to play their part, cost-sharing or the deferrals of losses will be shared between government, landlords, tenants and financial institutions.

Payroll tax waiver
he government has announced the waiver of payroll tax for 2019-20 financial year for businesses with taxable wages up to $3 million. Eligible businesses must continue to lodge returns but do not need to make further payments for 2019-20 financial year. State Revenue Office will contact eligible businesses in relation to reimbursement for payroll tax already paid in the financial year. Businesses with annual taxable wages up to $3 million can also defer paying payroll tax for the first quarter of the 2020-21 financial year until January 2021.

Hospitality (cafes, pubs, hotels, clubs and restaurants), creative arts and entertainment industries will receive a six-month waiver of payroll tax from March to August 2020. Businesses will need to complete an online application form to confirm their eligibility. All businesses with group Australia-wide wages of up to $10 million can defer their 2020-21 payroll tax, interest free until 1 July 2022. Businesses will need to lodge their payroll tax returns as normal.

Payroll tax relief for businesses
25% reduction of payroll tax liability for businesses with payrolls of up to $10 million. Applicable from when they lodge their annual reconciliation. This is due on 28 July.

Payroll tax return lodgements and payments waived for three months (the remainder of FY2019-20). This applies to businesses that lodge and pay payroll tax monthly, with payrolls of no more than $10 million for the current financial year.

Payroll tax cuts brought forward: the tax-free threshold is raised to $1 million in FY2020-21 from $900,000.

Waiver of payroll tax return lodgements and payments for three months (the rest of FY2019-20), applicable to businesses who lodge and pay payroll tax monthly and whose payrolls will be no more than $10 million for current financial year. In annual tax reconciliations, wage details for these months are still required to be provided.

Payroll tax waiver
The government has announced the waiver of payroll tax for 2019-20 financial year for businesses with taxable wages up to $3 million. Eligible businesses must continue to lodge returns but do not need to make further payments for 2019-20 financial year. State Revenue Office will contact eligible businesses in relation to reimbursement for payroll tax already paid in the financial year. Businesses with annual taxable wages up to $3 million can also defer paying payroll tax for the first quarter of the 2020-21 financial year until January 2021.

Payroll tax waiver
The payroll tax threshold will be increased to $1 million on 1 July 2020. Employers paying $7.5 million or less in Australian taxable wages that have been impacted by Covid-19 can apply to defer their monthly payments until 21 July 2020.

*A one-off payment of $17,500 will be made to employers whose annual Australian taxable wages are more than $1 million but less than – or equal to – $4 million. Businesses do not need to apply, they will be paid automatically from July 2020.

Bridging guarantee
The aim is to facilitate the financing of working capital loans from companies whose sales and earnings development is impaired.

Companies that can receive support are: commercial and industrial SMEs, self-employed, all independent professions, companies in the fields of agriculture, fishing and aquaculture, tourism and leisure industry with a financing requirement of more than €4.4 million and large corporations with a financing requirement of up to €0.5 million.

Expansion of hardship fund and launch of comeback bonus
The government has extended the application period for the hardship fund from 3 to 6 months and set the minimum payment amount to €500.

It also introduced a comeback bonus of €500 per observation period and thus applies to everyone entitled to the hardship fund in phase 2 and is paid out automatically for applications that have already been completed.

Guarantees for SMEs, EPU, liberal professions and agricultural businesses
Three guarantee variations are being offered. 

1. Basic variant with a 90% guarantee rate, with loan amount of up to €27.7 million
2. Small loan variant up to €500,000 with a 100% guarantee rate
3. 80% Guarantee rates,  Loan amount up to €1.5 million with a 80% guarantee rate. 

Loan guarantees
To help SMEs, the Republic will assume 100% state liability for emergency loans. Banks can grant working capital loans of up to 500,000 on the basis of a 100% guarantee from the Republic.

With a guarantee of €500,000, the Republic's guarantee covers 90% of the loan amount. The upper limit for this is a maximum of 3 monthly sales or a maximum of €120 million. A loan interest rate of up to 1% and guarantee fees, which are prescribed by the EU and are between 0.25 and 2% depending on the size of the company and the duration of the guarantee.

Municipal community aid package
The Austrian federal government presented a municipal package worth EUR 1 billion for direct support for every community in Austria.

The federal government will pay up to 50% of the costs for projects that start between June 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021. A grant can also be applied for projects that started as early as June 1, 2019, but which stalled due to the crisis. 

Package for pubs
The Austrian federal government presented a pub package worth €500 million. The package includes a reduction in the tax on non-alcoholic beverages in taverns to 10% by the end of 2020. The maximum limit for tax-free meal vouchers has been raised from €4.4 to €8, the deductibility of business meals in taverns has been increased from 50% to 75% and the sparkling wine tax has been abolished.

Phase 2-Hardship fund for one-person companies and micro-entrepreneurs
Guarantee liquidity: self-employed persons will receive emergency aid as a partial replacement for lost income, application for phase 2 is from April 20, 2020 until December 31, 2020. For a maximum of three months, if the requirements are met, a subsidy of up to EUR 2,000 per monthly observation period is granted, depending on the level of income loss.

A grant from phase 1 is counted towards phase 2, so that all applicants have a maximum grant of EUR 6,000 at their disposal, regardless of whether an application has already been made in phase 1 or not. Funding is granted retrospectively.

Rescue relief and investment package
Three packages were presented at the government retreat: rescue, relief and investment. The total package of the Austrian federal government thus amounts to €50 billion.

The rescue package extends the fixed-cost subsidy and, in the case of relief measures, part of the income tax reform, which was also negotiated in the government program, is brought forward. The lowest level of wage tax is reduced from 25 to 20%.

The investment package includes the investment premium, which is intended to incentivize companies to buy capital goods.

Aid program for micro-enterprises and medium-sized companies
The government will inject R $ 15 billion into the Operations Guarantee Fund FGO, increasing the fund's budget to up to R $ 18 billion. This fund will cover up to 85% of the loss that eventually stops being paid to financial institutions that lend to micro and small companies.

Regarding medium-sized companies, the government intends to launch the new Investment Guarantee Fund (FGI) and expand the scope of the fund, which will cover not only investments, but working capital credit lines. The government plans to invest R $ 20 billion in the fund.

BNDES starts new credit contracts for payrolls
The National Bank for Economic and Social Development plans to accept new hires from the Emergency Employment Support Program (Pese) with some changes that increase its reach.

Changes include: extension of the program until 31 October 2020; expansion of the annual revenue limit for the benefited companies from R$10 million to R$50 million; expansion of payroll financing from two months to four months;  the possibility of applying for a loan from banks other than those where the company pays its employees.

Brazilian Federation of Banks economy stimulation measures
The Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban) announced that its five largest associated banks have will comply with requests for a 60-day extension of the debt maturities of individual and corporate clients; these involving micro and small companies and for current contracts but is limited to the values already stated.

Credit operations for SMEs
The Central Bank reduced the capital requirement for credit operations for SMEs to stimulate the allocation of resources to a sector that has significant importance for the Brazilian economy, representing a relevant portion of production and employment.

The measure is likely to release ~R $ 3.2 billion from the regulatory capital requirement of financial institutions, which can be used for new operations. Additionally, it allows for the eventual restructuring of R $ 228 billion in credit operations for SMEs.

Credit to small business owners by Caixa and Sebrae
The bank will make R$7.5 billion in credit available to SMEs. Loans will have a grace period that can reach 12 months and the payment terms can vary from 24 to 36 months.

Digitalisation across infrastructure sector
The Ministry of Infrastructure has made a digital request system available for 94% of the 178 services provided to the infrastructure sector.

Economic package for companies
The Federal Government announced measures to help businesses, which includes an emergency credit line for companies with revenues between R $360 thousand and R $10 million. The measure will finance two months of payroll and at R $ 20 billion per month, totaling R $40 billion at the end of the period.

The government has enacted provisional measure no. 927 for employers to preserve jobs during the crisis. Measures such as remote working, anticipation of individual vacations, granting of collective vacations, use and anticipation of holidays, compensatory hours, suspension of administrative requirements in occupational safety and health and the deferral of payment of the Guarantee Fund for Seniority may be adopted by employers.

Emergency aid for unemployed workers, individual microentrepreneurs (MEIs)
Emergency aid of R $ 600 has been announced for informal, unemployed workers, individual microentrepreneurs (MEIs), as well as part time workers who are currently inactive and therefore without pay.

Emergency credit for small and informal entrepreneurs
Small entrepreneurs, cooperatives and informals will be able to apply for new lines of credits out of a R$6 billion fund from the Ministry of Regional Development. This will help to guarantee working capital and resources for investments. As of 15 May 2020, informal workers, cooperatives and small entrepreneurs have already received R $ 128.3 million from the emergency credit lines.

Emergency financial support for Brazilian civil aviation
The payment of fixed and variable contributions for airport concession contracts signed by the federal government was extended until December 18, 2020. The deadline for reimbursement of airfare will be 12 months.

Emergency measures for funds and financing
The National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) has announced measures to help companies totaling R $ 55 billion. They include: transfer of resources from the PIS-PASEP Fund to the Guarantee Fund for Length of Service (FGTS), in the amount of R $ 20 billion; temporary suspension of payments of installments of direct financing to companies in the amount of R $ 19 billion; temporary suspension of payments of installments of indirect financing to companies in the amount of R $ 11 billion and expansion of credit to micro, small and medium-sized companies (MSMEs), through partner banks, in the amount of R $ 5 billion.

Employment and income measures
The Emergency Program for Maintenance of Employment and Income was created to allow employers to temporarily reduce wages and hours (for up to 90 days) or suspend employment contracts (up to 60 days) to help employees have job stability and receive emergency benefits paid by the government.

Employment measures
Emergency employment and income preservation benefits will be available to employees to help preserve 8.5 million jobs. The benefits include reduction of working hours, suspension of the employment contract and monthly emergency aid for intermittent workers.

Expand working capital
The National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) included fintechs as eligible for the R $ 5 billion credit line aimed at expanding capital working capital for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Extension of debt maturities
The Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban) announced that its five largest associated banks will comply with requests for a 60-day extension of the debt maturities of individual and corporate clients and these involving micro and small companies.

Fund for companies
The federal government will contribute R$ 34 billion for small and medium-sized Brazilian companies to retain their employees. Companies will not be able to dismiss their employees without just cause for a period of two months after obtaining the funds. Companies will have 36 months to repay (after the six-month grace period).

Labour measures
The government has enacted provisional measure no. 927 for employers to preserve jobs during the crisis. Measures such as remote working, anticipation of individual vacations, granting of collective vacations, use and anticipation of holidays, compensatory hours, suspension of administrative requirements in occupational safety and health and the deferral of payment of the Guarantee Fund for Seniority may be adopted by employers.

Launch of Todos por Todos platform
The federal government has launched the Todos por Todos platform, so that companies, entities and associations, in addition to public bodies, can offer services and products free of charge.

Measures adopted by the economic team
The government has already reduced banks' compulsory deposits and is working to release new lines of credit and guarantees. Companies that have contracts with Public Administration will be guaranteed revenue during this period. The government is also analyzing the reduction in the requirements for teleworking and vacations. 

Measures for micro and small companies
The Brazilian federal government has postponed the collection of Simples Nacional tax for three months, which will benefit 4.9 million companies. The Income Generation Program, with resources from the Workers' Support Fund, will give R$5 billion to the public banks to grant loans to micro and small companies. 

Measures for the construction sector
New measures have been implemented to help the construction sector which include:  release of production financing resources not used by the company in previous months, limited to 10% of the financed cost; up to 20% of the resources for financing the production of projects to be started; release of funds up to three months, limited to 10% of the financed cost, for works in progress and without delays in the schedule; implementation of  90-day production financing pause for customers in default; allowing partial payment of the financing installment, for up to 90 days, for customers in default and inclusion or extension of grace period for up to 180 days, for projects with works completed and in the amortization phase.

Measures to facilitate credit to micro, small and medium-sized companies
Banks can deduct from the reserve requirements the amounts that were lent to companies with annual sales of up to R $ 50 million.

Banks can grant a new loan to micro, small and medium-sized companies, with a minimum term of three years and a six-month grace period.

Measures to protect jobs and distribute income
Emergency aid of R $ 200 and the temporary simplification of labour rules is planned to protect jobs and low-income earners in Brazil. Three months’ emergency assistance will be provided to eligible informal workers, individual and unemployed microentrepreneurs over the age of 18. 

New rules for teleworker benefits
Some benefits for teleworkers have been suspended such as, overtime pay, transportation assistance, unhealthy and hazardous work extras, bonus for activities with x-rays or radioactive substances and irradiation surcharges. The night shift surcharge is also suspended, with a few exceptions.

For vacation time that has already been scheduled, there cannot be any cancellations, extensions or alterations.

Proposal for special credit program for micro and small companies
A special credit program for micro and small companies, in the total amount of R $ 13.6 billion is being proposed. According to the bill, the credit will be destined to micro-companies, which have annual gross sales of up to R $ 360 thousand, and small companies, whose annual sales are up to R $ 4.8 million.

Reduction in company contribution to social services
The rate of contributions paid by companies to autonomous social services (Sistema S) has been reduced by 50%. The measure will be valid for three months. 

Reduction in Selic rate
The Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) reduced the rate to 2.25%.

Severance Pay Fund payment suspended
The Brazil Ministry of Economy has earmarked R$60 billion to safeguard jobs and wages. Payment by businesses into the Severance Pay Fund is suspended for three months.

Social security contribution rate reduction
The government is reducing the contribution rates into the S System by 50% from 1 April 2020- 30 June 2020. The rates vary according to the type of taxpayer, depending on the Social Security and Assistance Fund (FPAS) code.

Suspended Proex financing
Companies that have suspended the payment of financing from the Export Financing Program (Proex) may continue to pay interest lower than market rates as soon as they repay the installments. The National Monetary Council allowed the National Treasury to continue to subsidize fees in cases of suspension of payment.The measure covers all financing that can receive support from Proex through equalization, when the Treasury covers the difference between subsidized interest and market rates.

Suspension/Postponement of check payments and taxes
For companies the payment of the employer 's contribution to the National Social Security Institute (INSS), the Contribution to the Financing of Social Security (Cofins) and the Social Integration Programs (PIS) and the Formation of the Civil Servant's Heritage (Pasep) has been postponed . April payments will be paid in August and May payments in October.

Declaration of Federal Tax Debts and Credits (DCTF) is postposed from the 15th business day of April, May and June to the 15th business day of July. And there is a 50% reduction in the companies' contribution to the S System for three months, from April to June.

For micro and small businesses, there is a postponement of six months for the federal part of Simples Nacional. The payments for April, May and June have moved to October, November and December.

For the state and municipal part of Simples Nacional, payments for the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services of the Tax on Services from April, May and June are postponed to to July, August and September.

There is a 90-day suspension of the Tax on Financial Operations (IOF) for loans. Tax will no longer be charged from April to June, injecting R $ 7 billion into the economy.

Support for cultural sector
The Cultural Emergency Law will allocate R $ 3.6 billion from the Union to states, the Federal District and municipalities, to support the cultural sector.

The project guarantees an emergency income of R $ 600, retroactive to May 1 for informal workers in the cultural sector with proven average earnings from January 2019 to February 2020 of up to three minimum wages (per family). The proposal covers artists, producers, technicians, curators, workshops and teachers from art schools.

Tax measures
The government announced that it would release the Financial Operations Tax (IOF) on credit operations; defer contributions from PIS / Pasep and employer contribution to the pension plan of companies and public entities; and extend the deadline for the delivery of income tax (IRPF) from April 30th to June 30th.

The government also announced that it will initiate a broad credit program for companies and the productive sector, with reduced interest rates, zeroing the IOF rates for a period of 90 days.   

Withdrawal from Time Guarantee Fund of Service accounts
The federal government authorized Brazilian workers to withdraw up to R $ 1,045 of the total value of their active or inactive accounts in the Time Guarantee Fund of Service. It is expected that up to R $ 36.2 billion can be withdrawn from the Fund. Workers will be able to access the money from June 15 until December 31, 2020.

Working capital lines for companies
The National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) released R $ 1.1 billion. The amount is equivalent to 22% of the R $ 5 billion credit line announced last month to help micro, small and medium companies.

Bank’s COVID-19 Pandemic Response for businesses
The Bank of Canada’s initiatives have taken measures for reinforcing economic recovery bridge. These programs include: Short-term funding markets for banks so that they can continue to serve businesses and individuals. This includes term repo operations conducted against a wide range of high-quality collateral for terms of up to two years. There’s also a Standing Term Liquidity Facility open to a broader set of financial institutions to serve households and businesses.

The Bank has temporarily increased take-up of T-bill auctions from a maximum of 25% to 40%. There are increased demands for cash from fiscal actions taken to support the economy.

To serve businesses, banks are implementing programs to buy a wider range of bonds in the secondary market. They are committed to buy up to $50 billion in provincial debt across all provinces and up to $10 billion in high-quality Canadian-dollar corporate debt.

Credit and loan support for businesses
The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Export Development Canada (EDC) is offering support for businesses. EDC is working with financial institutions to issue new operating credit and cash flow term loans of up to $6.25 million to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. BDC is working with financial institutions to co-lend term loans to SMEs for their operational cash flow requirements. Eligible businesses may obtain incremental credit amounts of up to $6.25 million through the program.

The new Canada Emergency Business Account will provide interest-free loans of up to $40,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits, to help cover their operating costs during a period where their revenues have been temporarily reduced. To qualify, these organizations will need to demonstrate they paid between $50,000 to $1 million in total payroll in 2019.

The Government of Canada is expanding the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) to businesses that paid between $20,000 and $1.5 million in total payroll in 2019. The Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small business is likely to lower rent by 75% for small businesses. The program will seek to provide loans, including forgivable loans, to commercial property owners who in turn will lower or forgo the rent of small businesses for the months of April (retroactive), May, and June. The program will provide forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50% of three monthly rent payments.

Employment insurance
Service Canada is waiving the one-week waiting period to claim Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits and waiving the requirement to provide a medical certificate to access EI sickness benefits.

They have introduced the Emergency Care Benefit providing up to $900 bi-weekly, for up to 15 weeks. This flat-payment Benefit would be administered through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and provide income support to: Workers, including the self-employed, who are quarantined or sick with COVID-19 but do not qualify for EI sickness benefits, and workers, including the self-employed, who are taking care of a family member who is sick with COVID-19, such as an elderly parent, but do not quality for EI sickness benefits.

Essential Worker Retention Incentive Program
The government introduced an Essential Worker Retention Incentive Program, which will provide a $100-a-week benefit for low-income earners working full-time or part-time in essential services.

Expanded access to Canada Emergency Response Benefit
Aims at providing a taxable benefit of $2,000 every 4 weeks for up to 16 weeks to eligible workers who have lost income or stopped working.

Extension to recall employees
For employees laid off prior to March 31, 2020, the time period to recall employees is extended by six months or to December 30, 2020, whichever occurs first.

For employees laid off between March 31, 2020, and September 30, 2020, the time period is extended until December 30, 2020, unless a later recall date was provided in a written notice at the time of the layoff.

Flexibility for businesses filing taxes
The deadline to pay off any outstanding balances interest-free will be extended to August 31, 2020. This applies to individual, trusts and corporations. This relief would apply to tax balances due as well as instalments.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will not contact any small or medium (SME) businesses to initiate any post assessment GST/HST or Income Tax audits for the next four weeks. For the vast majority of businesses, the CRA will temporarily suspend audit interaction with taxpayers and representatives.

GST/HST payments and remittances
Allow businesses to defer GST/HST and customs duty payments until June 30, 2020. Any GST/HST payment that becomes owing from March 27 until the end of May can be deferred until the end of June. For GST and customs duty payments for imported goods, deferral will include amounts owing for March, April and May.

Income support for workers
For Canadians without paid sick leave (or similar workplace accommodation) who are sick, quarantined or forced to stay home to care for children, the Government is:

• Waiving the one-week waiting period to claim Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits.
• Introducing the Emergency Care Benefit providing up to $900 bi-weekly, for up to 15 weeks

For Canadians who lose their jobs or face reduced hours, owing to COVID-19, the government is:

• Introducing an Emergency Support Benefit delivered through the CRA to provide up to $5.0 billion in support to workers who are not eligible for EI and who are facing unemployment
• Implementing the EI Work Sharing Program, which provides EI benefits to workers who agree to reduce their normal working hour as a result of developments beyond the control of their employers, by extending the eligibility of such agreements to 76 weeks, easing eligibility requirements, and streamlining the application process.

Service Canada is waiving the one-week waiting period to claim Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits and waiving the requirement to provide a medical certificate to access EI sickness benefits.

They have introduced the Emergency Care Benefit providing up to $900 bi-weekly, for up to 15 weeks. This flat-payment Benefit would be administered through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and provide income support to: Workers, including the self-employed, who are quarantined or sick with COVID-19 but do not qualify for EI sickness benefits, and workers, including the self-employed, who are taking care of a family member who is sick with COVID-19, such as an elderly parent, but do not quality for EI sickness benefits.

Income tax filing and payment
Businesses can defer, until after August 31, 2020, the payment of income tax amounts that become owing on or after March 18 and before September 2020.

Relief measures for registered pension plans and Deferred Salary Leave Plans
The government has proposed to add temporary stop-the-clock rules to the conditions applicable to Deferred Salary Leave Plans.

Regulations are proposed to be amended to temporarily suspend the 90-day limit on borrowing and the prohibition on a borrowing being part of a series of loans or repayments.

Catch-up money purchase contributions will be added to an employee’s pension adjustment for 2020. If an employee is a member of a registered pension plan and is on an “eligible period of reduced pay”, the tax rules permit the plan to recognize full pensionable service for periods of reduced pay as if the periods were regular employment at unreduced pay.

Support to oil and gas sector companies
The Government of Canada, through BDC, Canada’s bank for entrepreneurs, and Export Development Canada (EDC) announced higher risk financing for Canada’s oil and gas sector, to strengthen companies’ financial position and complement financing available from EDC and other financial institutions.

These commercial loans, ranging in size between $15 million and $60 million each, are expected to be used to fund operational cashflow needs for a 12-month period which in turn will ensure a degree of continuity of operations.

Tax deadline for individuals
The deadline for paying income tax or the annual registration fee for the enterprise register related to the 2019 income tax return has been extended to 1 September 2020.

The deadline for paying income tax or the annual registration fee for the enterprise register that is related to the 2020 income tax return and that would normally be paid before 1 September 2020 has been extended to 1 September 2020.

If a trust is required to make instalment payments, the payment normally due on 15 June 2020 is now due by 1 September 2020.

Temporary wage subsidy
The government is proposing to provide eligible small employers a temporary wage subsidy for a period of three months. The subsidy will be equal to 10% of remuneration paid during that period, up to a maximum subsidy of $1,375 per employee and $25,000 per employer. Businesses will be able to benefit immediately from this support by reducing their remittances of income tax withheld on their employees’ remuneration. Employers benefiting from this measure will include corporations eligible for the small business deduction, as well as non-profit organizations and charities. The government announced a 10% temporary wage subsidy for employers for a period of three months.

Eligible employers (individuals - excluding trusts, certain partnerships, non-profit organization, registered charity, or certain Canadian-controlled private corporations - including cooperative corporations) who pay salary, wages, or taxable benefits to employees, between March 18, 2020 and June 19, 2020, can reduce payroll remittances of federal, provincial, or territorial income tax by the amount of the subsidy. This measure is only applicable to remittances made to the CRA.

Micro & small business relief measures
The Low Interest Loan Programme provides financial and non-financial support to micro and small businesses and will benefit businesses that are 100% Caymanian-owned and have been operational for at least 12 months prior to March 2020.

The Micro and Small Business Grant Programme targets three thousand vulnerable micro and small businesses and is intended to provide initial assistance of $1,000 monthly to selected business for three months.

Economic emergency plan
To protect labour income, employment and SMEs the government has created a plan that includes:

• Suspension of the monthly provisional payments (PPM) of corporate income tax for the next 3 months.
• Postponement of the payment of VAT for the next 3 months for all companies with annual sales under 350 thousand UF and allowing payment in 12 monthly installments at 0% interest rate.
• Postponement until July 2020 of the payment of income tax for SMEs with what they declare as income next April.
• Postponement of the payment of April’s real estate taxes for companies with sales under 350 thousand UF and for persons with properties with a tax assessment under 133 million CLP.
• Temporary reduction of the stamp and seal tax to 0% for all credit operations during the next 6 months.
  

Measures for SMEs with annual income up to 350,000 UF
Provisional Monthly Payments are suspended for April, May and June. Also, VAT payment is extended for the months of April, May and June 2020. The deferred VAT will be paid from July 2020, in 6 adjusted installments, without fines or interest. Payment of the first contribution installment for April 2020 is extended, which will be paid in three installments.

There is a rate reduction to 0% for the Stamp and Stamp Tax that is applied to credit operations for 6 months.

Reactivation plan for job losses
The government announced a reactivation program to advance the recovery of the 1.8 million jobs lost during the coronavirus pandemic and the global recession. The government announced a massive and urgent program of employment subsidies, which could benefit up to 1 million people and will cost close to US $ 2 billion.

The government announced tax incentives for private investment, which represents about 80% of total investment, and the speeding up of 130 private investment projects, which involve US $ 21 billion and have the capacity to create 120 thousand direct jobs. Also, the Concessions Program of the Ministry of Public Works will be strengthened and streamlined. The plan includes a special program to simplify procedures and expedite permits to promote and accelerate investment, entrepreneurship and recovery.

Bank-tax interaction for small and micro enterprises
The State Administration of Taxation and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission will support small and micro enterprises with urgent capital needs, tax credit loans, and help to overcome difficulties in resuming production.

Central bank’s counter-cyclical measures
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) will make full use of financial policies including the issuance of reloans and smooth policy transmission to stabilize the job market and boost the real economy. Along with targeted reserve requirement ratio cuts for eligible banks, special reloans has been issued to provide preferential interest rate credit support to enterprises and special bonds to provide sufficient funds to commercial lenders.

Central SOEs to utilize technologies
Central State-owned enterprises have been encouraged to utilize technologies to accelerate the integration between the latest digital solutions and traditional manufacturing.

The government will increase the development of emerging industries such as the internet of things, industrial internet, cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence in central SOEs, as well as reinforce innovation in areas like life sciences, telemedicine, healthcare and pharmaceutical product development.

Commercial banks to increase financial assistance for SMEs
Commercial banks will increase their lending to small businesses with a solid tax payment background. Small and micro enterprises, which cannot provide any collaterals or guarantees for loans, can share their tax payment information with commercial banks to get funding.

To encourage bank lending to small companies, China's central bank has approved relending and rediscount provisions of 1 trillion yuan, adding to the earlier 500 billion yuan quota to boost credit for small and medium-sized companies.

Cross-border economic cooperation zones
The Ministry of Commerce and the Export-Import Bank of China will strengthen financial support for cross-border economic cooperation zones, serve enterprises’ needs to respond to the epidemic, to resume work and production and to expand business, promote the innovative development of border trade, and foster new momentum for the development of border areas.

Enhance employment stability
China's State Council released a guideline to expedite the recovery of employment and keep it stable to counter the impact from the COVID-19 outbreak. It included prioritizing employment, helping migrant workers return to work, expanding job opportunities for college graduates, ensuring social security. Also, included fast-tracking targeted tax and fee reduction for safeguarding jobs, while prioritizing investment in industries that can create more jobs. It also called for a better environment for wider coverage of guaranteed loans for startups and policy support for venture investments.

Enhanced legal service for private businesses
Chinese authorities are encouraging lawyers to provide additional services to small and medium-sized private enterprises to help them get back to ‘business as usual.’ Online services such as legal training and consultation will also be available.

Enhanced measures for the economy
China will enhance macro-economic regulation and give more credit support to smaller and private companies. The government also pledged to make good use of capital markets, replenish the capital of small and medium-sized banks. 

Extension of preferential tax policies
The government will integrate fiscal and financial policies and continue parts of expired preferential tax policies to the end of 2023. The tax support policies will remain applicable to inclusive financial services and micro-loan companies to help serve micro and small enterprises, self-employed individuals and farmers.

Foreign ownership caps lifted
China has lifted foreign ownership caps on securities firms and mutual fund companies on 1 April. Foreign financial institutions can now tap into the vast Chinese market without ownership limits in sectors like banking, insurance, securities, futures and fund management.

Intensify efforts to resume work and production
More VAT relief for micro, small and household businesses, extending the loss carry-forward period from five years to eight years for sectors severely hit, such as transportation, hospitality and tourism; lowering or waiving ¥600 billion of employers’ contributions to the old-age pension, unemployment and workplace safety insurance schemes in the first half of the year, and adopting the refund of unemployment insurance premiums for keeping payrolls stable.

It also includes waiving over ¥140 billion in road and expressway tolls, and cutting electricity and gas rates for enterprises by ¥67 billion in the first half of the year, releasing ¥1.75 trillion of funds by cutting the required reserve ratio; providing ¥2.85 trillion of low-cost lending for businesses, especially micro, small, and medium-sized firms and household businesses, through special re-lending and re-discounts, encouraging State-owned large banks to issue inclusive loans to small and micro businesses, and increasing the special credit quota of policy banks; deferring over ¥1 trillion in principal or interest payments for more than 1.1 million micro, small and medium-sized businesses, and stepping up support for spring farming and the development of animal husbandry.

Loans and credit for small businesses
Banks and other financial institutions will make loans more accessible to small and micro-sized businesses affected. They will offer customized credit loans, with faster credit approval, appropriate increases in credit limit, and extensions of loan terms.

Lowered provision coverage ratio
The regulatory requirement for the provision coverage ratio of small and medium-sized banks will be lowered by 20% points, to free up more credit resources and boost the capacity for serving micro and small companies.

Measures to support enterprises
China has offered 3.55 trillion yuan of low-cost capital to financial institutions via reserve requirement ratio cuts, re-lending, and re-discount quotas. Multiple steps should be taken to further enhance the implementation of positive fiscal policies, increase financial support for the real economy and small- and medium-sized firms, and ease the cost pressure for firms of the manufacturing and service industries. To promote the development of new business models and flexible employment, steps will be taken to strengthen guaranteed loans for start-ups and advance mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

New financial reform measures
China will introduce 11 financial reform measures, including urging commercial banks to provide financial services to small and micro enterprises more efficiently; further reform of small and medium-sized banks will be carried out, such as accelerating capital replenishment of these banks, raising funds through multiple channels and combining replenishment of capital with the optimization of corporate governance.

Governmental financing guarantee institutions will support small businesses and farmers in a bid to share risks and help enterprises to resume work and overtake the difficulties.

New policies to support small firms
The central government is likely to push financial institutions to sacrifice ¥1.5 trillion ($212.1 billion) in profits in 2020 through policies such as guiding lending rates lower, deferring loan repayments for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and granting small businesses collateral-free loans.

More than ¥100 billion of additional transferred loans will be provided mainly to small and medium-sized banks, especially online-only banks, to ease small and micro enterprises' financing difficulty and reduce their financing costs.

Policies to stimulate domestic car market
Both the central and local authorities have come up with measures to help soften the impact on the auto industry. There is a plan to extend subsidies for new energy vehicles until 2022, and such vehicles will remain exempt from the purchase taxes for another two years as well. Some megacities with license plate quotas are relaxing the limits.

Support for small and micro businesses and agricultural entities
China is expected to accelerate equity investment through state financing guarantee fund this year, aiming at investing 10 prefecture-level government-controlled financing guarantee institutions successful in supporting small and micro firms as well as agricultural and rural entities.

The state financing guarantee fund will work with banking entities in bulk guaranteed loan businesses, planning to increase 400 billion yuan (about $56.52 billion) in reinsurance service in 2020.

Local government-controlled financing guarantee and re-guarantee entities will halve small and micro businesses' costs for financing guarantee and re-guarantee services in 2020 and further enlarge the scale of services to small and micro firms as well as agricultural and rural entities.

Increase in benefits for businesses
To support businesses, the government and Bancóldex added $ 350 billion to their benefit package for loans that will be available for all sectors. A 2% decrease for interest rates has been offered with a three-year term and a six month grace period for repayment.

Support program for payment of the services premium
The Service Premium Payment Program - PAP, establishes a single contribution that will correspond to the number of employees multiplied by $ 220 thousand for workers who earn between a minimum wage and a million pesos.

Individuals, legal entities, temporary unions and consortia may apply to this profit, proving a decrease of 20% of income. The PAP will be governed with parameters similar to those of the Employment Support Program Formal.

Measures to preserve jobs
Measures include financing 100% of the cost of the net minimum wage in the next three months, with the possibility of extension, Also, to preserve the seasonal workforce there is financial assistance for up to six months with co-financing the cost of extended pension insurance.

Micro loans for rural development
Micro loans for rural development are being introduced and working capital within this program is intended for small businesses in the agricultural, processing and forestry sectors. The loan is available in the amount of 1,000 to 25,000 euros, and the funds are provided by the Rural Development Program.

The repayment period is up to three years with an interest rate of 0.5 percent and a grace period of up to 12 months.

Support measures for commercial banks
All collection measures for debtors are suspended for three months.

Liquidity loans and working capital (salaries and working capital excluding liabilities to financial institutions) are postponed with a maturity of up to three years.

Tax deferral
The Ministry of Finance has put in place key measures for the deferral of payment of certain tax benefits, such as income tax or and health and pension contributions, and interest free installment repayment of these benefits for 24 months.

Culture & creative industry support
Entrepreneurs in the field of culture who, due to preventive measures of the government had to cancel or postpone their planned actions, will be able to apply for a subsidy in the amount of 50% of eligible expenditures ex post, maximum 5 million crowns.

SMEs in the creative industries will be able to receive support in the form of creative vouchers for the purchase of already paid creative services.

In the case of entities focused on furniture design, service design, film and video, photography, graphic design, music and sound, information and communication technologies, cultural heritage, marketing strategies, online marketing, PR, work with texts and webdesign, the grant will be a maximum of 150 000 CZK.

For companies focused on product design, industrial design and crafts, the subsidy will be a maximum of CZK 250,000.

Guarantee for loans to companies
The Czech Republic will provide a state guarantee in the amount of a maximum of CZK 150 billion for loans to companies. The maximum amount of an individual loan is CZK 50 million. The condition for providing the guarantee is to determine the loan for operational financing and to prove that it is an applicant with a maximum of 500 employees.

In the case of small and medium-sized companies that employ less than 250 employees, the guarantee will be provided up to a maximum of 90% of the debt from the individual loan provided, with the lending bank's share of the risk is at least 10%.

VAT deadline changes
The government has postponed the payment deadlines for A-tax, B-tax and labor market contributions for 4 months. The payment deadline for companies that pay VAT monthly is postponed for 30 days from each previous deadline. Companies that pay VAT on a quarterly basis, the first and second quarter will be combined moving the deadline to 1 September 2020.

Companies that pay VAT on a semi-annual basis, the deadline will change to 1 March 2021.

Continuous support for companies
An increase of €700 million is proposed for the share acquisitions of the state's corporate governance. This appropriation may also be used for arrangements to strengthen the capital of state-owned companies and state-owned associated companies.

With the interest rate crisis, the unemployment insurance expenditure for which the Employment Fund is responsible will increase significantly. It is proposed to provide a state guarantee with a proposed maximum amount of € 800 million in capital.

The Council of State may grant a State guarantee of up to €432 million for loans under the European Emergency Emergency Relief Facility (SURE). In addition, it is proposed that the to provide a State guarantee of up to € 372 million to the European Investment Bank against possible losses from the EU-wide EU Covid-19 Guarantee Fund.

Support for companies
A total of more than €60 million will be provided to support those involved in culture, sports and youth work. €40 million will be invested in rural entrepreneurship.

Development aid for SME enterprises will be increased by €200 million compared to previous decisions. Business Finland's grant authority to support companies will also be increased by €100 million.

A proposed capitalization of€150 million is proposed for Finnish Industry Investment Ltd to establish a new stabilization program to be used for liquidity problems. Venture capital investments are targeted at companies that have experienced sudden and temporary difficulties.

A one-time increase of € 7.5 million is proposed for the operating expenses of the Centers for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment and € 10 million for the operating expenses of Business Finland for the processing of business support applications.

Support for labor market
Amendments were made to the Employment Contracts Act, the Maritime Employment Contracts Act and the Act on Co-operation in Enterprises as of 1 April 2020, which will be extended until the end of 2020. The notice period for redundancies and the duration of the co-operation negotiations on redundancies have been reduced to five days.

The temporary provisions of the Unemployment Security Act will be extended until 31 December 2020.

Cash flow measures for road transport
Cash flow measures of €390 million have been assigned to road transport for the movement of goods. 

The internal consumption tax on energy products, currently reimbursed to road haulage operators every six months, will be reimbursed quarterly and tax on road vehicles. The next deadline for the tax on road vehicles 2020 to be paid on or before 1 September, will be postponed for three months until the 1 December 2020.

Financial stimulus for start-ups
Business mediation services are available for free to companies to come up with a confidential action plan for disputes.

Users can access the site https://www.mieist.bercy.gouv.fr/ for business mediation.

Postponing social security contributions and contributions for companies
The government chose to renew in May the measures to defer contributions and social contributions decided upon March and April. For companies with 5,000 or more employees, the possibilities of deferrals will be granted on request, after prior exchange with the collection agency, and in priority to those which would not have benefited from a loan guaranteed by the State.

The deductions planned for May 5 and May 20 will again be automatically postponed for the 1,028,000 monthly self-employed workers. The deadline of May 5 for the 500,000 other self-employed workers paying their contributions quarterly is also postponed. 565,000 micro-entrepreneurs will also be able to adjust their May 31 payment.

The same deferral conditions are applicable for employers and operators of the agricultural system in May, as well as for all employers in monthly payment who pay the supplementary retirement contributions on May 25.

Solidarity fund aid
The State and the Regions have set up a solidarity fund to help the small businesses most affected by the crisis. Inter-municipal authorities and large companies can help finance the fund. Insurance companies have already announced a contribution of €200 million. This aid, which can range up to € 1,500, is for very small businesses, freelancers, micro-entrepreneurs and liberal professions who have 10 employees at most, who make less than € 1 million in turnover as well as annual taxable profit of less than 60,000 euros. 

Support measures for restaurants, hotels and events sectors
The solidarity fund is open to companies in the tourism, events, sport and culture sectors that have up to 20 employees and €2 million in turnover, with subsidies up to €10,000 euros.

An exemption from social security contributions will apply to VSEs and SMEs in these sectors through June.

Mid-sized companies (ETIs) and large companies in these sectors not benefiting from automatic exemption will be able to obtain deferred social and tax charges and, on a case-by-case basis, request cancellation of debt according to their financial situation.

Rents and fees for occupying the public domain due to national lessors (State and operators) for VSEs and SMEs in these sectors will be canceled.

Support plan for French exporters
The granting of state guarantees through Bpifrance for sureties and pre-financing of export projects will be reinforced to secure the cash flow of exporting companies. The guaranteed quotas may be increased to 90% for all SMEs and mid-caps. The period of validity of the pre-financing guarantee agreements export will be extended for six months.

Support plan for tourism sector
The solidarity fund will remain open for companies in the tourism, events, sports and culture sector until the end of 2020. Its access will be widened to larger companies, those that have up to 20 employees and up to 2 million euros in turnover. The aid to which he may be entitled will be increased to €10,000.

An exemption from social security contributions will apply to very small businesses (VSEs) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism, cultural and sporting events sector, during the period of closure or of very low activity, at least March to June, for an estimated amount of € 2.2 billion.

Tax deferral
The tax relief measures allow all companies to defer tax (without any excuse/reasoning/ formalities or penalties) the payment of contributions and taxes due in March 2020.

Website for masks for businesses
Businesses with 50-250 employees can use the new website "masques-pme.laposte.fr" to order masks for their employees for when they return to work.

Adjusting advance payments and suspending tax penalties
Companies, the self-employed and freelancers can also have their advance payments adjusted for income and corporate tax. The same applies to the measurement amount for the purposes of business tax prepayments.

Enforcement of overdue tax debts should be waived by the end of the year. Default surcharges that are legally incurred during this period should be waived. This applies to income and corporate tax as well as sales tax.

Bonuses are tax-free
Bonuses given to employees up to €1,500 are now tax and social security free this year.

Economic Stabilization Fund
The Federal Government launched a large-scale economic stabilization fund: that consists of €400 billion euros state guarantees for liabilities, €100 billion euros for direct state investments, and €100 billion euros for funding from KfW.

With a volume of up to €600 billion, thus cushioning the economic impact of the pandemic on companies whose existence is of considerable importance for Germany or the job market. It also applies to important smaller companies and companies in the field of critical infrastructure. Also, intended to eliminate liquidity bottlenecks, support refinancing on the capital market and, strengthen the capital base of companies.

Grants for micro businesses, self-employed and start-ups
Companies eligible for grants are:

• Companies with up to five employees can apply for a one-time grant of up to €9,000.
• Companies with up to ten employees can apply for a one-time grant of up to €15,000.

The grant is intended to serve as a liquidity aid for three months.

Guarantee program for farmers
Farmers can apply for loans amounting to a maximum of €3 million. Small and medium-sized enterprises are guaranteed up to 90% of the loan amount and up to 80% for large companies.

The time limit for short-term, social security-free employment for seasonal workers who are already in Germany has been extended to five months. There are also facilities for the deduction of income from part-time work for recipients of short-time work benefits.

Implementation of economic stimulus package
Companies are supported with:

• Expansion of tax loss carryforward will be expanded to €5 million and €10 million (with joint assessment) for the years 2020 and 2021.  Introduction of degressive depreciation in the amount of 25%, at most 2.5 times the linear depreciation, for movable assets that are acquired or manufactured in 2020 and 2021.
• Allowance for the additional items to relieve and increase liquidity, in particular for small and medium-sized companies, will be increased to €200,000 from the 2020 survey period. The due date of the import sales tax is postponed to the 26th of the second month following the import.

KfW quick loans for SMEs
The government has introduced comprehensive KfW quick loans for SMEs. The state assumes 100% of the credit risks, and the loan terms are extended to ten years. The quick loans are available to medium-sized companies with more than ten employees who have been active on the market since at least 1 January 2019.

The credit volume per company is up to three monthly sales in 2019, maximum € 800,000 for companies with more than 50 employees, maximum € 500,000 for companies with up to 50 employees.

KfW special programme
The KfW Special Program 2020 builds on the KfW Entrepreneur Loan and ERP Start-Up Loan - Universal programs, whose funding conditions have been modified and expanded, and supplemented by a direct variant with the KfW Special Program 2020 - direct participation for syndicated financing. The special program is open to commercial companies of all sizes and the liberal professions.

With a maximum liability exemption by KfW of up to 90% for equipment and investments by SMEs, the government will make full use of the risk assumption permitted by EU law.

Short-term work allowance legislation
Legislation is being fast-tracked to facilitate access to short-term work allowances for companies where a minimum of 10% of the workforce is affected. Measures include:   

• The short-time work allowance is increased depending on the length of the short-time work. 
• From the fourth month of receipt, the short-time allowance for childless employees who are currently working at least 50 percent less will increase to 70 percent and from the seventh month of receipt to 80 percent of the loss of wages.
• For employees with children who are currently working at least 50 percent less, the increase is 77 percent from the fourth month of receipt and 87 percent from the seventh month of receipt. These increases apply until December 31, 2020.

Tax aid for restaurants and short-time employees
The sales tax rate for restaurant and catering services has been reduced from 19% to 7%, with the exception of beverage sales.

Employer grants for short-time work benefits and seasonal short-time work benefits for wage payment periods that begin after February 29, 2020 and end before January 1, 2021 will be up to 80% of the difference between the target salary and the actual salary.

Deadlines have been temporarily extended in the conversion law.

Tax deferral
The German tax office published measures for businesses affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. In the announcement, the Ministry of Finance states that if companies are unable to make tax payments due this year because of the economic consequences of the corona pandemic, these payments are to be deferred on request and generally free of interest. Companies can apply to their tax office until December 31, 2020.

There are no strict requirements for granting the deferral. Businesses must demonstrate that they are directly affected. However, they do not have to provide detailed evidence of the value of the damage incurred. This supports the taxpayers' liquidity by postponing the timing of the tax payment. This measure affects income and corporate tax as well as Value Added Tax.

Tax help for companies and employees
Companies that are expecting a loss this year can now receive liquidity aid and take advantage of further tax relief. Employee bonus payments of up to €1,500 are tax-free for employees.

Expansion of financial support measures for businesses
Businesses that see turnover reduce to below 40% of normal levels will be able to apply for up to 100% of minimum wage for employees through the Payroll Cofunding Scheme.

Businesses with turnover in excess of 40% and up to at least 70% of normal levels will continue to be able to apply for up to 80% of minimum wage for employees. Again, this upper threshold will be extended to 80% of normal turnover for those businesses most in need. Businesses that see their turnover improve to above 70% (or 80% in some cases), will continue to be able to continue receiving this support for two further weeks after turnover reaches that level. These businesses will still need to contribute the remaining 20% to their employees’ wages.

Payroll co-funding scheme
The payroll co-funding scheme and other financial support measures will continue until the end of September.

Additional rental or fee concessions for tenants
The Lands Department will provide additional rental or fee concessions for tenants of short-term tenancies (STT) and waiver holders in accordance with the new round of support measures  Under the new round of support measures, the 5,000 eligible STT tenants and waiver holders already levying previous concession, such as catering facilities, shops, workshops, public fee-paying car parks, and welfare facilities, will see their rental or fee concession rate increase to 75% from April to September.

The 75% concession arrangement will be extended to businesses not covered previously, such as depots for public transport operators, public utilities, petrol filling stations, driving schools and advertising facilities, effective for the same period.

Anti-epidemic fund
The Legislative Council Finance Committee approved a funding application of $137.5 billion, including an injection of $120.5 billion to the Anti-epidemic Fund to roll out the second round of measures. The Government launched the second phase of the Anti-epidemic Support Scheme for Property Management Sector to extend the subsidy coverage to industrial buildings and commercial buildings.

Under the Anti-epidemic Fund, the second phase provides financial support to frontline property management workers assisting in cleansing and security work, who serve industrial or commercial buildings, including shopping malls.

As of May 6, 2020, Anti-epidemic Fund has paid out over $13 billion, and many businesses and members of the public have gradually received subsidies. For the Retail Sector Subsidy Scheme which provides a one-off subsidy of $80,000 to eligible retailers, about 93,000 applications were received.

Employment measures
The government aims to launch the $81 billion Employment Support Scheme. The scheme will provide time-limited financial support to employers to retain workers who will inevitably be made redundant due to the downturn in business.

The provision of subsidies for employers, together with other relief measures and loan arrangements under the Anti-epidemic Fund and the 2020-21 Budget will help businesses stay afloat and retain jobs.

Wage subsidies provided under the ESS are calculated based on 50% of wages in a specified month subject to a wage cap of $18,000 per month for six months. 

Payment will be made in two tranches, with the first payout no later than the end of June to subsidise employers to pay employees' wages from June to August.

Job aid scheme
Employers and self-employed people will be able to apply for the Employment Support Scheme (ESS), online for starting on May 25.

The ESS, with a total commitment of $81 billion under the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund, aims to provide time-limited financial support to employers to retain their employees.

Property management support scheme
More than 5,400 applications for the Anti-epidemic Support Scheme for Property Management Sector have been approved, involving subsidies of over $200 million.

The approved subsidies will benefit more than 27,200 building blocks and 51,300 frontline property management workers. The scheme, which has received over 8,700 applications, was launched under the Anti-epidemic Fund to subsidise owners' organisations or property management companies of buildings to provide the Anti-epidemic Hardship Allowance to frontline property management workers.

Quarantine exemptions set for businesses
Enterprises with an operating base relating to logistics, port or shipping business on the Mainland can apply for an exemption from the compulsory quarantine arrangement.

The government may designate any person or category of people for exemption from quarantine if their travelling is necessary for purposes relating to business activities in the interest of Hong Kong’s economic development.

Rental aid programme extended
Tenants of the EcoPark, country park refreshment kiosks and the Hong Kong Wetland Park will benefit from increased rental concessions for government premises.

To help tenants cope with the economic impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, rental concessions of government premises from April to September will be increased from 50% to 75%.

Transport trade subsidies
The Transport Department announced that applications for the subsidy scheme for public light buses, local ferries and taxis under the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund.

Green minibus and local ferry operators are likely to be provided with a monthly subsidy of $6,000 for each employee aged 65 or above who has not participated in Mandatory Provident Fund schemes for a period of six months.

Additional tax concessions
The government has decided on the introduction of further tax concessions that will leave 200 billion forints (EUR 570 million) in the pockets of enterprises and families.

From 1 July the rate of social contributions tax will be reduced by a further 2% to 15.5%, which will leave some 160 billion forints (EUR 455 million) in the pockets of enterprises during the second half of the year.

The maximum level of this reduction is 5 million forints (EUR 14,200). Up to a maximum tax debt of 5 million forints, enterprises may also ask for payment in 12 monthly instalments or a six-month, surcharge-free deferment with relation to all tax forms.

Small business tax (KIVA) will be reduced from 12% to 11% from 2021.

Tax reduction
The Hungarian government is allowing businesses to ask for a reduction of the quarterly corporate tax advance if their revenue has been reduced so much that the tax is now less than the tax advance payable.  In addition to corporation tax advances, small business tax, innovation tax and energy supplier income tax advances can also be reduced. Deferral or payment in installments may also be requested.

Compliance & Regulatory Relief Measures
The Government of India has deferred the applicability of CARO 2020 to FY2020-21, provided relaxation in holding meetings of independent directors, residency requirements for resident directors and some deferrals for board meetings. There have been extensions for filings to newly incorporated companies. Additional fees have been removed for late filing of documents in MCA-21 during moratorium period. The government has raised the threshold for triggering of insolvency proceedings for SMEs from INR 1 Lakh to INR 1 Crore.

Contribution to PM CARES Fund eligible for tax exemption
PM has created the PM CARES Fund to deal with the emergency situation and provide relief. Any contribution towards PM CARES Fund would qualify for 80G exemption under Income Tax Act, 1961.

Measures to support export and imports
A line of credit of INR15,000 crore is extended to the EXIM Bank for a period of 90 days (with rollover up to 1 year) to enable it to avail a US dollar swap facility.

Increase the maximum permissible period of pre-shipment and post-shipment export credit sanctioned by banks from the existing 1 year to 15 months, for disbursements made up to July 31, 2020. 

Relief and credit support for businesses
Many support measures have been created to help MSMEs, such as Emergency Working Capital Facility for Businesses, Subordinate Debt for Stressed MSMEs, extending the Employees Provident Fund Support for business and organised workers for another 3 months for salary months of June, July and August 2020.

The EPF contribution is reduced for employers and employees for 3 months to 10% from 12%.

The government of India has provided tax relief to business by issuing income tax refunds to charitable trusts and non-corporate businesses.

Relief measures for corporate affairs
There are many relief measures and extensions of deadlines for companies set by the government.

Any document, return or statement that is required to be filed in the MCA-21 Registry, irrespective of its due date, will have no fees for a late filing up until 30 September 2020.

The mandatory requirement of holding board meetings for companies will be extended by a period of 60 days for the next two quarters.

Applicability of Companies (Auditor’s Report) Order, 2020 will be made applicable from the financial year 2020-2021 instead of from 2019-2020. This will significantly ease the burden on companies & their auditors for the year 2019-20.

Independent Directors are required to hold at least one meeting without the attendance of Non-independent directors and members of management. For the year 2019-20, if the IDs of a company have not been able to hold even one meeting, it will not be viewed as a violation.

Requirement to create a Deposit reserve of 20% of deposits maturing during the financial year 2020-21 before 30th April 2020 will have the deadline extended to 30th June 2020.

Schemes to support MSMEs
MSMEs that are manufacturing products or providing services related to fighting the Coronavirus can apply for loans at a rate of 5%. There is another scheme to provide financing for the healthcare sector.

Relaxation policies for banks
Credit treatment / restructuring financing in accordance with POJK Stimulus is excluded from the calculation of low quality assets or Loans at Risk (LAR) in assessing the soundness of a bankTo accelerate the loan restructuring approval process  and to avoid a buildup if the approval mechanism must be carried out by a higher official, the bank can approve credit restructuring with several governance alternatives while still observing the principles of objectivity, independence, avoiding collisions interests and fairness.

There are also adjustments to the implementation of several banking regulations during the relaxation period.

Tax deferral and VAT process
Certain business classification ("KLU") taxpayer) or KITE (Kemudahan Impor Tujuan Ekspor) entity, whose annual income does not exceed the threshold of IDR 200 million can have their taxes deferred. The KLU must have been stated in the reported CITR FY2018.

Exception of import taxes for certain KLU taxpayers or KITE Taxpayers. The KLU must have been stated in the reported CITR FY2018. The taxpayer needs to submit an application letter to the tax office.

There will be a faster VAT refund process for certain KLU taxpayers or KITE Taxpayer, who has submitted a refund request on overpayment amounting to no more than IDR 5 billion.

Business rates deferral
The government has agreed with local authorities to defer rates payments due from the most immediately affected businesses, primarily in the retail, hospitality, leisure and childcare sectors, until the end of May.

Microfinance schemes
Microenterprises can access COVID-19 loans of up to €50,000 from MicroFinance Ireland. The terms include six months interest free and repayment free moratorium, with the loan to then be repaid over the remaining 30 months of the 36-month loan period. Loans are available at an interest rate of between 6.8% and 7.8%. 

SBCI COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme
Micro, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and Small Mid-Cap enterprises that meet the eligibility criteria can apply for loans from €25,000 up to €1.5 million (first €500,000 unsecured) with a maximum interest rate of 4% for a duration of 3 years.

SME Credit Guarantee Scheme
The SME Credit Guarantee Scheme is meant to encourage additional lending to SMEs by offering a partial Government guarantee (currently 80%) to banks against losses on qualifying loans to eligible SMEs. The key features are: Facilities of €10,000 up to €1m, terms of up to 7 years and Term Loans, Demand Loans and Performance Bonds.

The Scheme is operated on behalf of the Department by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) and is available from the participating lenders (AIB, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank).

Tax measures
Interest on late payments is suspended for January/February VAT and both February and March PAYE (Employers) liabilities.  Current tax clearance status will remain in place for all businesses over the coming months, The Relevant Contract Tax (RCT) rate review scheduled to take place this month (March) is suspended.

Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme
The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme was introduced to support business and employees with around €21.3 million payments generated to employers.

Unemployment payment
Unemployment payment is paid at a flat rate of €350 per week for the duration of the pandemic emergency which has been extended until 10 August 2020.

€155 billion for phase two of economic measures
Italy is adopting the tools necessary to restart in safety and revive its economy, through a unitary and organic decree that allocates € 155 billion in terms of net balance to be financed and € 55 billion in terms of borrowing. The recovery phase begins, with non-repayable grants for businesses with up to € 5 million in revenues that have suffered losses, support for important expenses such as rent and utility bills and an unprecedented commitment to recapitalization and to help absorb the losses of small and even larger businesses

There is ~€ 4 billion for the cancellation of the June IRAP (regional tax on productive activities) balance and advance payment, for companies with turnover up to € 250 million. All tax payments are suspended until 16 September. The safeguard clauses on VAT and excise duties have been removed through 2021. All foreclosures on wages and pensions have been suspended. The plastic and sugar tax has been suspended, and system charges for utility bills have been eliminated for all businesses.

Extension of tax deadlines
Companies established in Italy operating in the tourism and hospitality sectors, as well as companies with their main activity relating to sports, transport, and catering can benefit from the suspension of tax duties other than payments, such as the VAT return, expiring in the period 8th March 2020 – 31st May 2020. 

The government has enacted measures totaling €7 billion.

Key measures include:

• strengthening and expansion of public loan guarantee systems for businesses (€3.8 billion)
• introduction of an incentive to transfer impaired loans to third parties, given the possibility of transforming them in tax credits, a portion of deferred tax assets (DTA) for an amount proportional to the value of the impaired loans sold (€1.1 billion)
• the suspension of the terms of payment of the loans entrusted to the collection agent (€0.8 billion)
• some recognized tax credits VAT holders to encourage the sanitation of work environments and to support rental costs commercial property in March (€0.4 billion)

Tax credits to companies and self-employed, equal to 50% of the costs incurred, up to €20,000, for sanitation work environments and tools during 2020.

Increase in Central Guarantee Fund for SMEs
The Central Guarantee Fund - already expanded by the Cura Italia Decree with € 1.5 billion - completes its transformation into an instrument to support small and medium-sized enterprises, to protect entrepreneurs, artisans, self-employed and professionals, as well as to safeguard exports and of all those sectors.

There is also a strong streamlining of bureaucratic procedures to access the guarantees granted by the Fund, which will act on three main lines: 100% guarantee for loans up to €25,000, without any credit assessment. In this case, the banks will be able to provide the loans without waiting for the go-ahead from the Guarantee Fund; 100% guarantee (of which 90% State and 10% Confidi) for loans up to €800,000, without performance evaluation; 90% guarantee for loans up to €5 million, Confidi, without performance evaluation.

Liquidity support measures
To secure supplier loans from German companies and to support the economy, the federal government is guaranteeing compensation payments from credit insurers of €30 billion for 2020. Credit insurance protects suppliers against payment defaults if a customer cannot or does not want to pay the invoice at home or abroad.

Operational plan for Sace's guarantee
The government signed the implementing decree that makes Sace's guarantee operational to cover 80% of the €100 million loan signed by Ovs with a pool of Italian banks, led by Unicredit.

The guarantee, granted as part of the guarantee Italy operations, is the first operation completed through the Liquidity Decree, that relates to loans for large companies, with over 5,000 employees in Italy or with a turnover value of over €1.5 billion. 

Strengthening of the SME guarantee fund
Until 31 December 2020, Article 13 introduces a strengthening of the intervention of the Guarantee Fund for small and medium-sized enterprises. Some measures include: Intervention under guarantee of the Fund free of charge; raising the maximum guaranteed amount per individual company to € 5 million. Automatic extension of the guarantee in the event of suspension of the payment of the amortization installments or of only the capital portion.

Elimination of the security (300 Euro) for the failure to complete the guaranteed financing operations; three-month extension of all terms referring to the administrative obligations; increase in the percentage of coverage of the direct guarantee from 80% to 90% of the amount of each loan with a duration of up to 72 months.

Support for workers
The Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance allocated €4 billion to unemployment funds, which has been extended to all employees in all sectors. Even companies with fewer than five employees can file and receive benefits for a maximum duration of nine weeks. The Wage Integration Fund, which normally covers companies with five to 50 employees, with change the limit. Self-employed, seasonal, and other types of workers will receive €600.

Workers with a gross annual income of up to € 40,000 who perform their work in the workplace in March, not teleworking, are granted € 100, in proportion to the number of days worked.

Suspension of loan payments for SMEs
The government has suspended the repayment installments of subsidized loans until 30 September 2020.

Suspension of mortgage payments for first time home owners
Holders of a first-time home owner mortgage contract who are in situations of temporary difficulty can apply for the suspension of installment payments for up to 18 months. The fund will bear 50% of the interest accrued during the suspension period.

Suspension of tax payments and contributions
The government has introduced a series of rules that provide for a total allocation of €2.4 billion to  suspend taxes and contributions for a total of  €10.7 billion. The deferral of deadlines and the suspension of tax and social security contributions are established (for all small businesses and without turnover limits for businesses operating in the sectors most affected); the collection and dispatch of the tax collection files; of assessment documents and payments due for the various tax amnesty measures.

Additional funding support and sustained benefits for SMEs
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, announced measures which include; refinancing of existing debt of government financial institutions and credit guarantee associations to real interest-free loans and interest-free and unsecured lending, with a non-principal financing for up to five years, is now available to private financial institutions.

ASEAN-Japan Economic Resilience Action Plan
The ASEAN-Japan Economic Resilience Action Plan is based on three objectives: sustaining the close economic ties developed by ASEAN and Japan; mitigating the adverse impact of COVID- 19 on the economy; and strengthening economic resilience.

Emergency economic measures for businesses
Business can receive support from:  

• interest-free unsecured loans with improved loan conditions, such as allowing recurring debts to be refinanced as interest free loans.
• deferment of the payments of national taxes and social security premiums without collateral and penalties (amounting to ¥26 trillion). 
• cash payments of ¥2 million to micro-, small-, and medium-sized business and ¥1 million to individual business owners

IT support
The government aims to provide support to businesses that are committed to capital investment, cultivation of sales channels, and efficiency through the introduction of IT to respond to supply chain damage and future business continuity.

Support for small businesses to develop sales channels and improve productivity can claim subsidies up to 500,000 yen. IT tools that will lead to value-added improvement such as the efficiency of back-office operations are able to get a subsidy from 300,000 to 4,500,000 yen.

Relaxation of import/export procedures
If an import certificate or export license will expire due to delays in imports, companies may apply for an extension of the validity period, before the validity period elapses.

If a customs quota certificate will expire due to import delays, companies may apply to extend the validity period within 30 days from the day after the expiration date. 

Safety nets to support SMEs
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has implemented safety nets as a measure to support SMEs' financing. It has been decided to additionally specify the type of business covered by Guarantee No. 5. to allow them to use the general warranty and a separate warranty.

Business Disruption Loan Guarantee Scheme
£50 million of new lending capacity has been added to this scheme with £40 million guaranteed by the government. 

Loans or overdrafts are available under this scheme to qualifying businesses required to close or reduce services. The loans are intended to help qualifying businesses to manage short-term cash flow constraints. Qualifying businesses can apply to banks through the scheme to borrow between £5,000 to £500,000.

Economic stimulation measures
The government has announced following measures including: £100 payment to ~13,000 Islanders from low-income households.

The proposed temporary reduction for employees Social Security contributions from 6% down to 4% will, if approved by the States Assembly, will run for nine months up to June 2021 and will increase the take-home pay for over 50,000 workers and self-employed islanders across our entire community.

The government has also extended the deadline for local businesses to repay their Social Security and GST payments for two years.

Payroll scheme: phase 1
The Government Co-Funded Payroll Scheme: Phase 1 is being introduced to assist employers and employees. For pay periods including 20 March to 31 March 2020, these businesses can claim: £200 per week for a worker who has worked during the relevant period and has been paid either at least £320 per week or at least £1,390 per calendar month.

For workers earning lower weekly or monthly amounts, a payment of 60% of 39% of the usual monthly wage (around 23% or roughly one quarter) will be made. This largely equates to 60% of the relevant wage for the proportion of the month that was affected by restrictions (39%).

Exemption from payroll taxes
An exemption from tax payments are provided for the following:

• Private practitioners, small and medium enterprises of certain types of activities for tax liabilities with deadlines for payment in the period from April 1, 2020 till October 1, 2020.
• Large enterprises of certain types of activities with deadlines for tax liabilities with deadlines for payment in the period from April 1, 2020 till July 1, 2020.

Social security measures
The legislation outlines that an employee cannot exceed 78 weeks incapacitated for work due to illness over a reference period of 104 weeks.

If an employee cannot work due to illness, the employer must continue to pay the salary to the employee over a period determined by legislation. The employer is then reimbursed up to 80% by the Employers' Mutuality.

Special Anti-Crisis Financing
SNCI has set up a Special Anti Crisis Financing - FSAC for an SNCI envelope of up to €400 million corresponding to a total leverage effect of nearly €700 million EUR, bank financing included.

This instrument is intended for SMEs and large Luxembourg companies with an establishment authorization for the financing of any exceptional need Funding is done indirectly through the customer's usual bank - SNCI finances up to 60% of the requirement, on condition that the bank finances 40%.

Additional measures for SMEs
An additional allocation of RM10 billion has been added to the Prihatin Package for SMEs to help ease the financial burden.

A wage subsidy program has been increased from RM13.8 billion from RM5.9 billion. All companies with local workers earning RM4,000 and below will receive wage subsidy assistance of between RM600 and RM1,200 depending on the number of employees.

A special grant of RM2.1 billion is specifically for all qualified micro-SMEs. The government will provide a Special Grant of RM3,000 to each micro company which will benefit almost 700,000 micro SMEs nationwide.

In addition, money lending organisations registered under the Moneylenders Act 1951 are encouraged to give a moratorium on SMEs instalment payments for six months effective April 2020.

Economic Stimulus Package
The government has allocated RM250 billion to support businesses including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and RM2 billion to strengthen the country's economy.Some of its measures include: The Government and Bank Negara Malaysia will provide an additional RM4.5 billion to assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) including micro entrepreneurs; Special Facilities Assistance Fund for SMEs increased by RM3 billion and interest rates dropped to 3.5% from 3.75%; size of the All Economic Sector Facility fund increased by RM1 billion to RM6.8 billion to further enhance financing access to SMEs; Business Loan Guarantee Companies offer RM5 billion worth of securities as well as increase the guarantee rate to 80% from 70% for SMEs who have trouble getting loans; the Government has allowed the suspension of payment of income tax installment to all SMEs for a period of three months beginning April 1, 2020.

Enhancements to Financing Facilities
Bank Negara Malaysia has been enhancing the existing financing facilities under the BNM’s Fund for SMEs (the Fund), and increasing the allocation of the facilities by an additional RM4.0 billion to RM13.1 billion. Enhancements include: An increase in the allocation of the Special Relief Facility (SRF), from RM2 billion to RM5 billion; increase in the allocation of the All Economic Sectors (AES) Facility, from RM5.8 billion to RM6.8 billion, to enhance access to financing for SMEs and to support growth. The maximum financing rate is also reduced from 8% p.a. to 7% p.a.. Additionally SMEs can also avail themselves to 3 other facilities under the Fund, namely the Automation and Digitalisation Facility (ADF), Agrofood Facility (AF) and Micro Enterprises Facility (MEF).

Measures from the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package implemented
All 10 core initiatives in the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN) have been implemented, comprising 95% of the total package valued at RM260 billion.

The government had allocated RM2.1 billion for GKP, which was opened for applications on May 1 and involved disbursing RM3,000 in grants to active micro small and medium enterprises

RM1 billion additional allocation was expected to be required on top of the RM10 billion originally earmarked under Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN), a one-off cash assistance for the B40 and M40 groups.

Additional measures for the agricultural sector
€650 million of additional measures have been granted for the agricultural sector. A turnover damage settlement of €600 million will be introduced for floriculture and specific components of food horticulture. The scheme is for companies in these sectors that are experiencing a sharp drop in turnover.

Compensation for Entrepreneurs in Affected Sectors COVID-19: “TOGS"
Companies who are negatively affected by corona related measures can apply for a conditional compensation of EUR 4,000 to pay fixed expenses. This compensation is a gift, non-taxable and does not have to be refunded.

An application for this measure can be submitted between March 27 up to and including June 26, 2020.

Expansion of BMKB for SMEs
The BMKB has been expanded and is intended for SMEs with a maximum of 250 employees. This measure has increased the size of the surety loan in the BMKB from 50% to 75%.

In addition, the BMKB's guarantee budget has increased from € 765 million to € 1.5 billion. Non-bank financiers can also accredit themselves to finance their existing customers under the corona module of the BMKB.

Tax payment deferral
Special deferral of payment is possible for all assessments of income tax, corporate tax, turnover tax (VAT) and payroll tax, wage tax, corporate income tax, gambling tax, excise duty, consumption tax for non-alcoholic drinks, insurance premium tax, landlord levy and energy tax To qualify for this special deferral, a request must be submitted to the tax authorities requesting this special deferral of tax payment. The company will then automatically be granted a deferral of payment of all the before mentioned taxes. Any fines for late payment of VAT or wage taxes will not have to be paid.

This deferral applies for a standard period of 3 months. If 3 months is too short, a deferral can instead be requested for a longer period. Additional information must then be provided for the extended deferral to be granted by the Dutch tax authorities. Entrepreneurs/companies can request a special extension of payment for 3 months online and apply for deferral of payment for different types of taxes.

Temporary Reduction of collection interest and tax interest
The following reductions will apply from March 23, 2020:

• Collection interest (‘invorderingsrente’): temporarily reduced from 4% to 0.01%.
• Tax interest (‘belastingrente’): temporarily reduced from 8% (CIT) / 4% (other) to 0.01%.

Financial assistance
Wage subsidies will be available for all employers who have experienced at least a 30% decline in projected or actual revenue; made best efforts to retain employees and pay them a minimum of 80% of their normal income for the subsidised period; and have taken active steps to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. 

The COVID-19 Wage Subsidy will be paid at a flat rate of:

• $585.80 for people working 20 hours or more per week
• $350.00 for people working less than 20 hours per week.

Leave entitlements
For 8 weeks starting 17 March 2020, leave payments will be available to support those who are require to self-isolate due to recent travels, cannot work because they or their dependents are ill with COVID-19.

The Leave Payment will be a flat rate of:

• $585.80, for employees who work over 20 hours a week; OR,
• $350.00 for employees who work fewer than 20 hours a week.

Wage subsidy extension
A Wage Subsidy Extension payment is available to support employers, including self-employed people. The subsidy will be paid at a flat rate of: $585.80 for people working 20 hours or more per week (full-time rate) $350.00 for people working less than 20 hours per week (part-time rate).

The subsidy is paid as a lump sum and covers 8 weeks per employee from the date application is submitted.

Loan guarantee scheme
The scheme has a total guarantee framework of NOK 50 billion, which is distributed among the individual banks. As of April 22, banks had used NOK 3.7 billion of the limit. Since the guarantee covers 90% of the loans, this means that the banks have provided partially government-guaranteed loans for a total of NOK 4.1 billion. 1,021 loans have been granted under the scheme, of which 972 have been granted to SMEs.

Loans have been granted to companies in a number of industries, where the retail trade / workshop, accommodation / serving and industry are the largest.

Measures for temporary lay-offs
Measures have been put into place by the government to reduce the number of days that employers are obliged to pay salary to workers at temporary lay-offs, from 15 to 2 days.

They have also removed the three waiting days between the period when employers have to provide salary to workers in temporary layoffs and the period when the workers are entitled to daily unemployment benefits.

Support measures
The executive branch is authorized to implement, for the present fiscal year, exceptional budgetary, fiscal and administrative measures, employment protection and economic and financial policy measures. Teleworking is established for the private and public sectors. The Social Fund administered by the Ministry of Finance is created with Gs. 1,914,600,000,000 or USD 300,000,000 to subsidize workers who are self-employed or dependent on MSMEs and who are 18 years of age or older.

The Ministry of Finance would contribute to IPS up to Gs. 638,200,000,000 or USD 100,000,000, for sick benefit and financial compensation to active contributing workers for total cessation of activities in economic sectors or suspension of employment contracts.
The payment of the employer's contribution to IPS for the months of March, April and May 2020 are deferred. The unpaid obligations resulting from this temporary measure may be financed in up to 18 instalments without surcharges or interest, starting in July 2020.I PS will have to continue serving the insured during the emergency, beyond the payments received from the employer's contributions.

Anti Crisis Shield scheme
The shield is a package of solutions prepared by the government to protect the Polish state and citizens and consists of protection of jobs and employee safety, financing entrepreneurs, health care, strengthening the financial system and public investments totaling over PLN 212 billion.

The government has been expanding the group of entrepreneurs who will take advantage of 3-month contributory holidays in ZUS (Social Insurance Institution). Until now, such dismissal from ZUS affected self-employed workers and micro-enterprises employing up to nine employees. After the changes, this scheme will also benefit companies that employ between 10 and 49 people.

Sole proprietors and those employed under a civil law contract will receive a benefit of 3,000 zlotys for three months.

Changes across Anti Crisis Shield
The extended anti-crisis shield introduces a new instrument financed from the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund gives funding up to 80% of the employee's remuneration for specific persons.

The new act introduces a change in the rules for granting loans to micro-entrepreneurs to cover the current costs of doing business. The date before which a micro-entrepreneur applying for a loan should run a business has changed, from March 1, 2020 to April 1, 2020.

Pension assessment base set for June 1, 2020 should not be lower than that set for May 31 of the same year.

Tax measures and loans
The Ministry of Public Finance and ANAF are supporting businesses with new tax measures. Interest rates and late penalties for due tax obligations will not be calculated and are not due up until 30 days after the state of emergency. These obligations will not be considered outstanding tax liabilities.

A comprehensive program for guaranteeing and subsidizing loans for SMEs has launched. 

Additional economic measures
New measures that will affect businesses have been announced. National insurance contributions will be reduced for small and medium-sized businesses from 30 to 15 percent on the portion of wages that is above the minimum wage. A bill has been drafted to defer all taxes on small and medium-sized businesses and a moratorium has been placed on initiating bankruptcy proceedings with penalties and fines suspended.  

Economic measures for businesses
The Russian government has created a financial reserve of ?300 billion and a loan guarantee fund for restructuring affected companies. The distressed sectors of the economy such as tourism and aviation will be given tax deferrals.

Support for small and medium-sized businesses has begun with a three-month deferral on insurance contributions and a temporary deferral of rents for lessees of state-owned or municipal properties. A moratorium is being introduced on inspections of SME businesses, including tax and customs. Soft lending programs have been expanded along with the possibility of restructuring existing loan agreements at affordable rates.

Measures to support the economy
The Russian Government allocated an additional 1.8 trillion rubles to support the economy and incomes of citizens. The total amount of assistance under the two packages of measures is 2.1 trillion rubles.

A six-month deferment has been introduced for all taxes (except VAT) for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as for the payment of insurance premiums and rental payments for SMEs from the most affected sectors.

SMEs can halve the size of insurance premiums if the wages of employees are higher than 1 minimum wage.

In 2020, 100 thousand planned inspections of SMEs, including tax and customs, will be canceled and 15 types of licenses and permissions expiring in 2020 will be automatically renewed. 

Businesses are exempt from paying interest on loans. 

For SME enterprises from the most affected sectors in May and June, the Government co-finances the payment of salaries to employees. The amount of grants is 1 minimum wage (12,130 rubles) per employee employed in the organization, provided that employment remains at least 90% of the number as of April 1, 2020.

Reduction of social payments for SMEs
All small and medium-sized businesses have a reduction of the total amount of the insurance premium rate with payments above the minimum wage. This reduction is 15% down from 30%. There is deferred payment of insurance premiums till May 2020. 

Tax on interest
A tax of 13% on individual income in the form of interest on deposits (account balances) exceeding 1 million rubles in Russian banks will be effective starting in 2021. This measure will not affect the interest received on deposits in the current year, 2020.F or the first time, depositors will have to pay this tax for 2021 only in 2022 (until 1 December 2022) based on tax notifications sent by the tax authorities.