Global Tax Responses to COVID-19 for Multi-National Businesses
Cherry Bekaert is maintaining this information as things change on a regular basis. We are aggregating the information we are finding and updating regularly. We will help connect you with the right people to answer your questions and help with your International issues.
How the world is navigating the COVID-19 storm: View the full list of countries.
-
Argentina
Argentina’s economy minister pledged a package of decisive measures, including tax breaks and higher state spending on infrastructure, to protect the country’s already vulnerable economy from the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic.
Martin Guzman told reporters in Buenos Aires the country would channel an additional 100 billion pesos ($1.58 billion) toward public works to help bolster an economy that has been mired in recession over the past two years.
The government earlier announced measures, including one-time payments for people on child and social support and for retirees, to help the most vulnerable groups in the face of the pandemic.
The latest measures involved tax relief for the hardest-hit sectors, bolstering employment guarantees and strengthening food supply in community soup kitchens for the poorest. The extra public works spending would target education and tourism.The government will also launch a 350 billion peso ($5.55 billion) facility of low-cost credit “to guarantee the production and supply of food and basic supplies, boost activity and finance the operation of the economy.”
-
Australia
The Federal Government has announced a $17.6 billion stimulus package to counter any economic downfall that may be caused by COVID-19 (coronavirus).The measures have the potential to provide significant cash flow to business taxpayers in the short term, funded predominantly through the tax system. The package includes:
- an instant asset write-off extension;
- a 50% asset investment incentive;
- a cash payment to employers of between $2,000 to $25,000;
- a 50% wage subsidy for apprentice’s or trainee’s wages;
- support to regions and communities impacted by the coronavirus, including ATO payment support; and
- a one off $750 payment to certain concessional recipients.
Due to the limited time in which the package applies, taxpayers should immediately consider whether they qualify for these measures and the impact of each of the measures on their business and cash flow.
Additionally, on 22 March 2020, the Federal Government announced further economic stimulus measures for individuals, business and the banking sector to support Australia through the unprecedented societal and economic impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus).
The stimulus package is aimed to cushion the impact of coronavirus and provide a safety net for individuals most at risk, while also seeking to support a base level of economic activity that must be maintained to position Australia to return to ‘normal’ operations on the passing of the contagion.
-
Austria
According to a March 16 release issued by the Austrian Ministry of Finance, companies affected by the coronavirus may apply for tax relief that includes the reduction of advance payments, a waiver of arrears interest, payment facilitation, and a waiver or reduction of late payment surcharges.
-
Belgium
Belgium has announced that corporate income tax, legal entities tax and non-resident corporate income tax returns with filing deadlines between 16 March 2020 and 30 April 2020 are subject to a postponement until midnight on Thursday, 30 April 2020. Additionally, a postponement will apply for the submission of periodical VAT returns and intra-Community declarations until 6 April 2020 for February 2020 declarations or 7 May 2020 for March 2020 and subsequent Q1 declarations. For start-ups and enterprises licensed to receive monthly refunds, and wanting a monthly refund of the VAT credit, a postponement until the 24th of the month following the reporting period applies. The deadline for the annual customer listing is extended until 30 April 2020. If you cease your activity which is subject to VAT, the deadline is the end of the 4th month following the cessation.
Based on several principles in the double taxation treaties Belgium has with foreign countries, a person is in principle taxable in his home country, but can also be taxable in the working country if some conditions are fulfilled. The measures taken to force people to work from home will have a very important impact from a tax perspective. A person that is normally spending a lot of days in his working country and is taxable in such country will at once become taxable in his residency state on all days spent at home. Until now, the Belgian tax authorities are of the opinion that no tolerance will be applied in this respect. Considering the taxation right is based on double tax treaties, both countries should agree with some special measures, before these could be applicable. In this regard, Belgium has created special agreements with both France and Luxembourg.
-
Brazil
The Ministry of Economy postponed the deadlines for payment of federal taxes under instalment agreements firmed by taxpayers with the Federal Revenue Office and the Attorney General of the National Treasury, as follows:
- Installment payments due by the last business day of May 2020 may be paid by the last business day of August 2020;
- Instalment payments due by the last business day of June 2020 may be paid by the last business day of October 2020; and
- Instalment payments due by the last business day of July 2020 may be paid by the last business day of December 2020.
The postponement does not impact interest levied on instalments, which continues to apply as per the respective instalment agreements. This measure does not apply to instalments under the simplified regime for the collection of taxes and contributions (Simples Nacional). The tax authorities postponed from 29 May 2020 to 31 July 2020 the deadline for companies to submit the Digital Tax Bookkeeping (Escrituração Contábil Digital, ECD) related to tax year 2019. Additionally, the president has extended the suspension of taxes under Drawback Regime for 1 year. Under the drawback regime, taxes normally levied on the import or purchase of goods in the internal market are suspended provided that the said goods are used or consumed in the manufacturing of products to be exported. The extension covers only the suspensions that had been extended for 1 year and the (extended) term for which would end in 2020.
-
Bolivia
The Bolivian government has announced that the filing deadlines for individual and corporate monthly tax returns will be extended to July 2020 and the deadline for making installment payments will be extended to 31 July 2020. Deadlines for submitting tax refund requests (CEDEIM) and tax credit certificates (CENOCREF) due between March and June 2020 are extended to 30 July 2020 and 31 July 2020 respectively. Additionally, there will be a temporary suspension of CIT tax return filing and payment until July 2020, including financial statements, annual memory, complementary tax information and transfer pricing report. However, corporate income tax payment is due by 29 May 2020.
-
Canada
With the Canada-U.S. border closed to nonessential travel because of the coronavirus, the Canadian government has announced an C $82 billion economic support package that includes tens of billions of dollars in temporary tax relief.
“Today we’ve announced C $27 billion dollars in direct support to Canadian workers and businesses, plus C $55 billion to meet [the] liquidity needs of Canadian businesses and households to help stabilize the economy through tax deferrals,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a March 18 address.To support workers, the government will provide low-income families with “a special top-up payment under the goods and services tax (GST) credit,” which will infuse the economy with C $5.5 billion, according to a March 18 release. The average individual beneficiary will receive C $400 and the average couple will receive C $600, according to the Canada Revenue Agency.
-
China
China’s Ministry of Finance said it will increase export tax rebates for almost 1,500 items, including agricultural and processed goods, to relieve pressure on domestic businesses and encourage foreign trade. In a brief statement March 17, the government said rebates will be increased to 13 percent for 1,084 products, including “porcelain sanitary appliances,” and to 9 percent for another 380 products, including plant growth regulators. The MOF didn’t provide details on the current rates for the products covered by the decree, which goes into effect March 20. China’s State Taxation Administration said in a March 3 release that it will extend its monthly tax filing deadline from March 16 to March 23. China has already provided small and medium-size businesses with tax and fee incentives. According to a March 3 release from the Chinese government, the country’s top economic planner said there will be “more targeted tax and fee cuts to aid smaller businesses as they were among the hardest hit by the novel coronavirus outbreak.”
-
Colombia
In response to the growing threat of COVID-19, the Colombian government has passed several decrees in effort to provide relief to taxpayers. In particular, Decree 438 extends Colombia’s annual deadline to carry out a non-profit taxpayer’s confirmation process to qualify for its special income tax regime to June 30, 2020. Additionally, Decree 438 provides a temporary suspension of its VAT regime to certain medical equipment sales in Colombia. Additional decrees passed by the Colombian president allocate special powers to regional authorities and provide economic relief to certain industries.
-
Costa Rica
The Costa Rican government has announced a temporary VAT exemption for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on their consumption of water, electricity and rent. This exemption would be for a term of 1 year, since the moment that the Executive declared a national emergency state, according to the National Emergencies Law.
-
Cyprus
The President of the Republic of Cyprus and the Ministers of Finance, Labor, Welfare and Social Security and Health announced at a press conference on Sunday 15 March 2020, a series of measures to address the effects of coronavirus. The President announced temporary suspension for two months of the obligation to pay VAT in order to provide businesses with liquidity. Additionally, the standard VAT rateis being temporarily reduced from 19% to 17% for a two-month period, and the reduced VAT rate is reduced from 9% to 7% for a period of three and a half months. The obligation for the submission of the tax returns by companies which were required to submit them by 31 March 2020 has been extended for two months i.e. until 31 May 2020. This relates to the submission of the tax return for the tax year 2018 by businesses.
-
Czech Republic
The Czech government has announced an extension on the submission of CIT tax returns and corporate tax payments to July 1, 2020. Additionally, a general waiver of penalties and default interest was announced for income tax (for returns with original filing deadline of 1 April 2020). For corporate tax advances, there will be an automatic removal of the June advance payment on CIT without a need to apply. However, there was no extension or waiver of penalties for late filing of VAT returns.
-
Denmark
The government has previously launched measures to ease the liquidity pressure on the Danish business community and at the same time tried to mitigate the risk of layoffs by providing wage compensation to the companies. Today, real compensation opportunities have been presented for the Danish business community, including self-employed and owner-managers. Exposed companies can receive support to continue operating the business, with the government covering up to 100% of the company’s fixed costs. The compensation can be given to all companies across industries, but is targeted at the most vulnerable companies defined by; companies with more than 40% decrease in revenue during the period March 9 to June 9, 2020.
Fixed costs cover, among other things. rent, interest expenses and other contract-related expenses (eg leasing agreements, etc.) during a period when the companies are exposed to a large decline in revenue.
The temporary compensation will be valid for up to 3 months. No compensation can be applied for if the fixed costs amount to less than DKK 25,000 for the period. -
European Union
On April 9th, EU finance ministers agreed to a 500-billion-euro ($550-billion) rescue for European countries hit hard by the coronavirus epidemic, but sidelined a demand by Italy and France for pooled borrowing. The statement reads that the rescue would be specifically earmarked for costs related to the COVID-19 crisis, which has killed more than 65,000 people in Europe. The package agreed is worth about 500 billion euros ($546 billion), short of what many observers believe is necessary to restart the European economy when the health crisis recedes.
Data indicates that the economy across the continent is already in a historic meltdown, with everyday life paralyzed to fight the spread of the virus. The main component of the rescue plan involves the European Stability Mechanism, the EU’s bailout fund which would make 240 billion euros available to guarantee spending by indebted countries under pressure. In addition to the Eurozone rescue fund, the EU ministers agreed 200 billion euros in guarantees from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and a European Commission project for national short-time working schemes.
-
France
France will reduce direct taxes on businesses on a case-by-case basis to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the French economy, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has announced.
The Minister Gérald Darmanin, in his press release of 03/18/2020, specifies that there is no postponement of deadline for the filing of the VAT declarations, nor for the payment of the latter (for the declarations of the month of February 2020).
In the event of a cash flow difficulty and without automatic delay extension, the usual procedure for requesting a delay in payment should be applied. Concretely:
Process your company’s VAT returns as usual
Concerning the regulations, only two decisions can be retained:- proceed to the payment of the VAT as declared
- or make a partial or zero payment by imperatively establishing a request by email
On March 27, 2020, the Prime Minister announced the renewal of the confinement for two more weeks, until Wednesday April 15. The same rules as those currently in force will continue to apply. This confinement period may be extended if the sanitary situation requires it.
-
Germany
Germany announced March 8 a plan to provide liquidity assistance for businesses — a conversation that the government will have with German organizations shortly — and to expand its short-time work program. The bill will be adopted March 11 and enter into force in April, according to the announcement. The German government included in its plans proposals to increase annual federal investments by €3.1 billion from 2021 to 2024, which will total €12.4 billion. Germany said the effects of the coronavirus on German businesses are unforeseeable, but that the government would like to respond quickly should the circumstances worsen.
Loss of earnings of families resulting from daycare or school closures are largely absorbed. This also applies to the self-employed and freelancers.
Families with lower incomes due to short-time work have easier access to the child supplement.Small businesses, the self-employed and freelancers receive very extensive and rapid support:
- The federal government is providing 50 billion euros to provide unbureaucratic emergency aid for small businesses, the self-employed and freelancers. This provides a one-time, three-month grant for operating costs that does not have to be repaid.
- Emergency aid supplements the programs of the federal states. The applications should therefore be processed from a single source in the federal states. The countries will still announce which authority is responsible in the respective country.
The emergency aid provides for the following grants:
- Self-employed persons and companies with up to 5 employees receive up to 9,000 euros.
- The self-employed and companies with up to 10 employees receive up to 15,000 euros.
The self-employed have easier access to basic security so that their livelihood and accommodation are secured. The asset review is suspended for six months, benefits should be paid out very quickly.
The federal government is establishing an economic stabilization fund that is aimed particularly at large companies and can provide large-scale aid. It supplements the liquidity aid already decided on through the KfW special programs. The fund receives:
- 100 billion euros for corporate actions
- 400 billion euros for guarantees
The fund can refinance KfW programs that have already been approved with up to EUR 100 billion.
A billion-dollar aid program is made available through the state-owned KfW to provide companies, the self-employed and freelancers with liquidity. To this end, KfW provides various loan programs in unlimited volume. This alleviates financial difficulties that are not the fault of small and medium-sized companies in particular. Affected companies have access to KfW loans through their house bank. If necessary, they can also use the instrument of guarantees there.
Companies of all sizes receive tax aid to improve their liquidity. For companies directly affected by the corona virus, the following applies until the end of 2020:
- Tax authorities grant deferrals of tax liabilities.
- Tax prepayments can be adjusted.
- Enforcement measures are waived.
-
Guatemala
The Guatemalan tax authorities have announced that items imported to combat the COVID-19 crisis and donated to the respective authority are exempt from VAT and custom duties while the emergency situation continues. Temporary emergency tax on public officer’s salaries is proposed and is under analysis by Congress. The tax aims to create a fund to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The Social Security Institute has granted a deferred payment option for private employers’ social security contributions for March, April and May 2020. These contributions may be paid during July, August and September 2020; or split into 18 installments payable as from July 2020. Employee social security contribution payments are not deferred and must be paid monthly. Tax authorities have published a procedure for individual taxpayers to request tax payment agreements. The SAT may grant the possibility to make tax payments in up to 18 monthly instalments, during which period penalties and interest will not be imposed. However, income tax withholding, VAT and VAT withholding payments are not covered by the payment agreement procedures.
-
Hong Kong
The government of Hong Kong is proposing one-time waivers of personal and corporate income taxes to deal with a recession brought on by international trade tensions and the coronavirus epidemic.
On 26 February 2020, Mr. Paul Chan, Financial Secretary, delivered his fourth budget speech. He forecasts economic growth of -1.5% to 0.5% in 2020.
Facing the threat posed by the novel coronavirus outbreak and the tough economic environment, the Financial Secretary proposes a number of measures that will help supporting enterprises, safeguarding jobs, stimulating the economy and partly relieving financial burden of people living in Hong Kong.
-
India
The Indian tax authorities have extended the last date for income tax returns for (FY 19-20) from 31 March, 2020 to 30 November 2020. The rates of tax deducted at source (TDS) for non-salaried specified payments made to residents and the rates of tax collected at source (TCS) for the specified receipts will be reduced by 25% of the existing rates, as follows: (1) Payments relating to contracts, professional fees, interest, rent, dividend, commission, brokerage, etc. will be eligible for this reduced rate of TDS; (2) the relief will not be available for payments made towards salary and to non-residents; (3) the relief will be applicable for the remaining part of FY 2020-21, i.e. from 14 May 2020 to 31 March 2021; and (4) however, there will be no reduction in rates of TDS or TCS, where the tax is required to be deducted or collected at a higher rate due to non-furnishing of PAN/Aadhar. The due date for tax audits will be extended from 30 September 2020 to 31 October 2020. The final date for opting for Vivad Se Vishwas without paying additional amounts will be extended from 30 June 2020 to 31 December 2020. The date of income tax assessments being barred will be extended from 30 September 2020 to 31 December 2020; those being barred on 31 March 2021 will be extended to 30 September 2021.
-
Ireland
On March 24, the Irish government announced that it will operate a Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme, enabling employees whose employers are affected by the pandemic to receive support directly from their employer through its payroll system. The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme will be available to employers who keep employees on the payroll throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning employers can retain links with employees for when business picks up after the crisis. Employers are encouraged to facilitate employees by operating the scheme, retaining employees on their books, and by making best efforts to maintain a significant, or 100%, income for the period of the scheme. After the employer has paid the subsidy to its employee, they will then be reimbursed by the government for amounts paid to employees and notified to Revenue via the payroll process. The subsidy scheme will refund employers up to a maximum of €410 per each qualifying employee, however employers should pay no more than the normal weekly net pay of the employee. The reimbursement will, in general, be made within two working days after receipt of the payroll submission. Income tax will not be applied to the subsidy payment through the payroll. Additionally, beginning in April the scheme will be altered to a subsidy payment based on up to 70% of the normal net weekly pay for each employee to a maximum of €410. The Scheme is available to employers from all sectors, excluding the public service and non-commercial semi-state sector, whose business activities are being adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and is expected to last 12 weeks from March 26th.
-
Italy
Italy has taken steps to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus with a March 1 announcement of plans to introduce tax cuts and tax credits. Previously, the government suspended tax payments due between February 21 and March 31 for individuals and businesses in 11 municipalities affected by the virus, according to a February 24 release.
The Italian Government is going to introduce several benefit to help Italian companies, entrepreneurs and professionals during this hard time due to Covid-19 pandemic flu.
It’ll allocate resources for 25 mld euros to provide benefit in the areas of tax, financial, labour.
Within this evening, at the latest tomorrow, the Government will pass a new law with many measures.
-
Kenya
The Kenyan government has announced the repeal of several tax exemptions including: (1) Dividends received by registered venture capital companies, special economic zone (SEZ) enterprises, developers and operators licensed under the Special Economic Zones Act; (2) Gains arising from trade in securities listed in any securities exchange operating in Kenya by any dealer licensed under the Capital Markets Act; (3) Interest income generated from cash flows passed to the investor in the form of asset-backed securities; and (4) Dividends paid by SEZ enterprises, developers or operators to non-residents. Additionally, Finance Bill 2020 introduces a variety of measures ranging from the introduction of a digital services tax, a minimum tax, non-deductibility of certain expenses when computing taxable income, to the provision of tax amnesty through a voluntary disclosure program to be administered by the tax authorities. The Bill will apply from 1 January 2021. Additionally, individual income tax rates have been revised, including VAT fuel rate increased from 8 to 14% and tax on dividends paid to non-residents increased from 10 to 15%.
-
Luxembourg
The Luxembourg Ministry of Finance announced measures to assist companies and self-employed individuals affected by the coronavirus, which include an application for the cancellation of the first two quarterly advance tax payments of 2020 and a payment extension of four months for taxes due after February 29.
-
Malaysia
The Government has announced a RM20 billion fiscal stimulus package as a ‘stop-gap’ measure to aid the economy and Malaysians in this time of stress and uncertainty. Some of these measures are short-term but there are also some that could assist in the medium term. As much as it is a welcome move by the Government, it is left to be seen in the next 6 months to a year whether the package was sufficient to avoid potential further shrinkage of the economy and job-loss. The question of how these measures will be financed is inevitable, given the current fiscal deficit of 3.2%. This deficit is expected to increase by a modest 0.2% to 3.4% as a result of this stimulus package, and to my mind is worthwhile given the anticipated boost to GDP growth of something closer to 4.2% expected to be achieved by virtue of the stimulus. The thrust of this lies in the fact that the RM20 billion will mainly be contributed by the reduction in the EPF employee contribution rate and Bank Negara soft-loans funding to SME’s and targeted sectors.
-
Mauritius
On 18th March 2020, the Prime Minister announced the first three cases of COVID-19 in Mauritius. In addition to mandatory shutdowns and curfews, the government has passed various schemes to help its taxpayers including: (1) the suspension of penalties and fees to late returns filed in March 2020, (2) the establishment of employee wage suspension and self-employed assistance programs, (3) the implementation of various economic development plans, (4) the removal of VAT requirements for masks and hand sanitization products, and (5) the implementation of various tax incentives and schemes aimed to provide relief for taxpayers working from home.
-
Mexico
The Tax Administration Service (Servicio de Administración Tributaria, SAT) has published Q&As to address the application of rule 3.17.4., introduced by the fifth version of the First Amending Resolution to the Miscellaneous Tax Resolution for fiscal year 2020, by means of which individuals are given the possibility to pay income tax due in 2019 in up to six monthly instalments. The key highlights of this Resolution are as follows:
- No CIT or VAT deferrals, reductions or reliefs have been granted;
- Social security contributions (25% as an average of payroll costs) can be paid 12 to 24 months after the state of health emergency is lifted;
- Local incentives for State taxes such as payroll and lodging are available ;
- Accelerated VAT Refunds and trade and customs facilitations are in place; and
- Temporary support from Banks for natural and legal persons.
Additionally, the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) announced employers may request an installment agreement for the payment of social security contributions debts, under one of the following payment schemes: (1) up to 12 monthly instalments, at a monthly interest rate of 1.26%; (2) from 12 to 24 monthly instalments, at a monthly interest rate of 1.53%; and (3) from 24 to 48 monthly instalments, at a monthly interest rate of 1.82%. Employers requesting an instalment agreement are required to make a down payment of 20% of the social security contributions due by the employer and of 100% of the social security contributions due by employees.
-
Morocco
The Moroccan tax authorities have granted assistance allowances (MAD 2,000) to employees in temporary cessation of activity. The circular provides that the allowance is capped at 50% of the average net salary after tax. However, the allowance granted is to be included in the computation of the 50% ceiling. It also provides that the average net salary after tax is calculated on the basis of the first 2 months of the year 2020. Remuneration and bonuses granted on an ad hoc or exceptional basis are excluded.
-
Netherlands
In its announcement of the adoption of a package of new measures to save jobs and the economy, the government of Netherlands noted new rules to tax payments will make sure that when a deferral is requested, the collection of taxes will be halted by the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration and stated that no payment is required for any fines imposed because of late tax payments.
-
New Zealand
New Zealand is exploring tax policy options. At a March 9 press conference, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said Treasury and the Inland Revenue Department are developing options to reduce the impact of the coronavirus on affected businesses and “maintain operational continuity.” He highlighted the government’s plans to provide flexibility to small businesses to meet their tax requirements.
-
Northern Ireland
Around 4.3 million businesses in the UK can apply to Companies House for a three-month extension to file their accounts.
The joint initiative between the Government and Companies House aims to give firms time to focus on negating the economic impacts of COVID-19.
Companies must submit their accounts and reports each year, with automatic penalties in place for non-compliance.
Firms that apply and cite coronavirus-related disruption will automatically be granted the three-month extension.
Applications can be made online and should take around 15 minutes to complete.
-
Norway
The Norweigan Ministry of Finance noted the government’s work toward measures to alleviate the economic effects of the coronavirus outbreak include changing tax regulations so owners of lossmaking companies are allowed to postpone wealth tax payments and temporarily suspending tax on air passengers for flights.
-
Pakistan
The Pakistani government has announced that sales tax and federal excise duty filing and payment deadlines for the March 2020 tax period will be extended as follows: (1) Tax return filing deadline is extended to 30 May 2020 (the last extension was to 15 May 2020); and (2) Tax payment deadline is extended to 27 May 2020 (the last extension was to 12 May 2020). The time limit for the filing of Annex-H for sales tax refunds for the tax periods of July 2019 to December 2019 was extended to 30 June 2020 (the last extension was to 15 May 2020 for the tax periods July 2019 to November 2019).
-
Portugal
In the current context, of Covid-19 Pandemic, the Government created a package of measures to support companies and families, resulting from the Council of Ministers of March 12, 2020, with the objective of mitigating the negative effects of the new coronavirus in Portugal.
-
Romania
The Romanian government has announced that the deadline for payment of tax on buildings, lands, and vehicle is postponed until the 30th of June 2020, while the 10% discount for a one-off payment is maintained. Micro-enterprises and small and medium taxpayers will benefit from a 10% tax reduction while large taxpayers will have a 5% discount. Postponement of VAT payment for companies importing COVID-19 test kits, protective equipment and disinfectants, medical equipment and medicines to treat the people who have contacted the virus, during the entire state of emergency and 30 days after its cessation. Additionally, corporate taxpayers which apply the annual computation system, and hence perform quarterly advance payments based on prior year’s profits, may pay corporate tax determined based on the taxable profit actually computed for each quarter in 2020. This will apply irrespective of whether the fiscal year matches the calendar year.
-
Scotland
The government of Scotland noted in a March 18 release that measures to support businesses in the economic emergency in a coronavirus include a 100 percent non-domestic rates relief for one full year for retail, hospital, and tourism and a “1.6 percent relief for all properties, effectively freezing the poundage rate next year.
-
Slovenia
On 29 March 2020, the Slovenian government presented the economic stimulus program worth around EUR 3 billion. The stimulus package was increased from 2 to 3 billion, along with the postponement of deadlines for filing tax returns to May 31, 2020. The European Commission approved an “umbrella” state aid scheme to support the economy of Slovenia in the form of direct grants, wage subsidies, exemption from paying social security contributions, reduction of certain taxes and water fees, bank guarantees, deferred payment of certain credits and compensatory payments. For social security benefits, companies and self-employed or unemployed persons are entitled to State aid in the form of social security contributions for persons who work. Additionally, salary compensation and payment of pension contributions will be provided for those employers that cannot assure work to workers in the emergency period. Further tax amendments include an additional tax allowance for donations made to the state or other EU Member States aimed at fighting the Covid-19 pandemic; and an exemption from VAT for supplies of medical equipment from within the European Union.
-
South Africa
South Africa is providing a tax subsidy for lower-income individuals, and small businesses can delay 20 percent of payroll taxes for four months.
-
Spain
The government has introduced support measures to the cultural sector to cope with the economic and social impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including substantial increases on tax deductions to enhance the competitiveness of the Spanish film and audio-visual sector in the national and international environment.
-
Sweden
A proposed crisis package to alleviate the economic impact of the coronavirus could “encompass more than SEK 300 billion if the entire liquidity reinforcement through tax accounts is used” according to a March 16 release issued by the Swedish Ministry of Finance.
-
Thailand
The Ministry of Finance announced a further extension of the filing and payment deadlines for the online submission of certain monthly withholding tax (WHT) returns (Forms Por Ngor Dor 1, 2, 3, 53, 54), monthly value-added tax (VAT) and reverse charge VAT returns (Forms Por 30 and 36) and the monthly specific business tax (SBT) return (Form Por Thor 40) in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The online filing and payment deadlines for the above returns for the following tax months will be extended as follows:
- March and April 2020: extended to 1 June 2020;
- May 2020: extended to 30 June 2020;
- June 2020: extended to 31 July 2020;
- July 2020: extended to 31 August 2020; and
- August 2020: extended to 30 September 2020.
Previously, extensions on filing WHT returns, VAT and reverse charge VAT returns for the tax months of March and April 2020 had been granted until 15 May 2020 and the extension for SBT return for the same tax month until 23 May 2020. The statutory filing and payment deadlines for the above tax returns are as follows:
- WHT returns: within 7 days from the last day of the tax month in which the payment was withheld by the taxpayers;
- VAT and reverse charge VAT returns: within 15 days from the end of the tax month; and
- SBT return: within 15 days from the end of the tax month.
-
Trinidad and Tobago
In a release issued March 18, the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Finance noted, as part of its economic response to the coronavirus outbreak, accelerated cash flows for goods and services and refunds will be given to businesses within the next 30-60 days in order to put them in funds and keep people in jobs.
-
United Kingdom
The U.K. government is “looking at all potential measures” to provide cash flow support to businesses and preserve employment and the productive capacity of the economy, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said. Sunak sought to reassure Treasury Select Committee members over his government’s budget and coronavirus measures at a March 18 hearing during which he said the government is looking at delivery mechanisms that could be targeted as well as and as quickly as possible. The hearing took place the day after the chancellor announced a £330 billion package to soften the blow of the COVID-19 pandemic to U.K. businesses. On May 4, the United Kingdom government announced that self-employed individuals or members of partnerships whose business has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are able to apply for a grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profits. Additionally, the U.K.’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is set to be extended another 4 months until the end of October, with no reduction in the level of support, being 80%/£2,500 a month cap. However, the scheme will be flexed between August and October to allow for part-time work with the sharing of the cost of this flexibility with employers after the end of July.