The cabinet has extended the emergency package for aid to companies by three months. The costs for this are 13 billion euros. The planned fine for companies that receive support and yet lay off workers is canceled. An entrepreneur who expects at least a 20% loss of turnover can apply for a contribution towards wage costs from UWV for June, July and August from 6 July 2020.

partner income test

The cabinet is extending the relaxed scheme to support independent entrepreneurs, including self-employed persons, so that they have an increased chance of continuing their business. Self-employed persons can receive additional income support for living expenses from their municipality. Until the end of August 2020, this supplements the income to the social minimum and does not have to be repaid.

The extended scheme contains a partner income test. This means that only households with an income below the social minimum can claim a living allowance. In this way, support for living is aimed at guaranteeing the social minimum at household level.

“That is a necessity, given the economically difficult times that have come at an unprecedented speed. With this # emergency package the cabinet is once again making a significant contribution to its pockets. On the one hand, this package is more generous than the previous one, and on the other we have set more conditions. We expect costs to amount to EUR 13 billion. Added to this is the loss of income due to deferred taxes. We can do this, thanks in part to the buffers we have built up in years of prosperity. ”, Said Wopke Hoekstra - Minister of Finance.

need for support remains

With this package, the cabinet wants to help the country through the crisis as well as possible. At the same time, they also know that we have entered a recession. The personal consequences of this can be very drastic. This package cannot take away all the pain. Unfortunately, it will not prevent people from losing their jobs and companies going bankrupt.

But it does give time to work together in the coming months on our lives in the new reality. That requires a lot of resilience, inventiveness and solidarity from all of us. All new or extended schemes, with any adjustments, can be found in the Letter to Parliament Emergency Package 2.0.

The fixed (flat-rate) surcharge is increased from 30 to 40 percent. The NOW also contributes to costs other than labor costs. The reference month for the wage bill will be March 2020. In addition, in the current NOW scheme, March is also taken as the starting point if the wage bill in March-May is higher than in January-March. This is important for seasonal companies. Furthermore, a company that uses the NOW for this year may not make a profit distribution to shareholders, may not pay bonuses to the board and management and may not repurchase its own shares.

In NOW 2.0, the correction to the subsidy on dismissal will continue to apply, but the subsidy will no longer be reduced further in the event of commercial dismissal. With the new NOW application, companies state that they consult with unions if they want to apply for business dismissal for more than 20 employees. This is in line with the regulations concerning collective dismissals. The legal protection in case of dismissal also remains in force.

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