On Tuesday, the Cabinet of Ministers supported the allocation of 70.2 million euros to subsidize the salaries of employees of exporting and tourism companies affected by the Covid-19 crisis.
The government order instructs the Ministry of Finance to allocate funding from the state budget program “Contingency Funds” to the Ministry of Economics (Latvian Investment and Development Agency) not exceeding 70.2 million euros.
Of this, € 51 million is intended to support taxpayers affected by the crisis – exporters of goods and services – affected by the proliferation of Covid-19, and € 19.2 million is intended to support economic operators in the tourism sector affected by the proliferation of Covid-19. .
The Government Order requires the Ministry of Economics to prepare and submit to the Ministry of Finance a request for the allocation of the said funds from unforeseen events in accordance with the required amount, initially requesting 10 million euros for exporters of goods and services and 10 million euros for tourism companies.
On July 14, the Cabinet of Ministers approved two new support programs for exporting and tourism companies to overcome the consequences of the Covid-19 crisis and promote employment. Exporting and tourism companies that meet certain criteria can receive support in the amount of 25% and 30% of the mandatory state social insurance contributions made in 2019. The maximum support per company or group of companies can reach 800,000 euros.
You can apply for support electronically until September 30 of this year. Exporting enterprises may apply for support if the amount of exports of goods and services in 2019 reached at least one million euros and whose average monthly gross salary paid to employees, for which mandatory state social insurance contributions have been made, is not less than 800 euros in 2019.
As an additional criterion, the impact of Covid-19 on the company’s economic activity will be assessed, ie those exporting companies whose income from economic activity is affected by the Covid-19 crisis in one month in the period from April to June 2020 compared to the corresponding period of 2019 will be supported. month have decreased by 20%. Exporting companies can receive support as a one-time compensation in the amount of 25% of the mandatory state social insurance contributions paid in 2019, but not more than 800,000 euros per company or group of companies.
The amount of support will be received by the economic operator in one payment and will have to be paid in the salaries of employees by 31 December 2020.
Accommodation and catering service providers, companies engaged in the rental of equipment necessary for the provision of tourism services, professional service providers related to the tourism industry, tourism service offices and operators, organizers of events and exhibitions related to business tourism, attractions can receive support from companies working in the tourism sector. and leisure parks, amusement and recreation providers, as well as various private museums and cultural institutions.
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