conditions, procedures … Everything you need to know

HELP FOR THE INDEPENDENT. Gérald Darmanin announced that the Solidarity Fund for the Self-Employed is operational from Tuesday. Linternaute.com answers all your questions on the terms and conditions of payment of the aid of 1,500 euros tax exempt.

[Mis à jour le 31 mars 2020 à 10h41] The tax site seems to be in working order to allow the self-employed, micro-entrepreneurs and very small businesses (VSEs) to initiate their procedures in order to request the payment of the aid of 1,500 euros. As a reminder, the government has created a dedicated Solidarity Fund, through ordinance n ° 2020-317 of March 25, 2020, which you can find here, and the conditions of which are specified by decree n ° 2020-371 of March 30, 2020. “It is operational from this Tuesday“, announced Gérald Darmanin in the columns of Figaro. “Any company concerned (…) must complete an extremely simple form for requesting assistance (…) on their personal page of the impots.gouv.fr site to obtain, within 3 or 4 days, the payment of the assistance on the company account“.” Professionals should connect to their space particular (and not on their usual professional space) where they will find in their secure messaging under “Write” the reason for contact “I ask for help to companies weakened by the Covid-19 epidemic”, does one insist on the tax site. According to estimates by the tax administration, around 400,000 companies are affected by this exceptional arrangement.

Does this mean that all independents will benefit? Not sure. In a press release, the Union of local businesses (U2P) deplored that this aid is conditional on a drop in turnover of at least 70% in March, preferring a drop of maximum “50%, knowing that the activity stops only started on March 15”. Asked about this on the microphone of BFMTV, the Minister of the Economy said that “Small entrepreneurs will be eligible for the solidarity fund from 50% loss of turnover “, in April only. What are the conditions for receiving this tax-free financial assistance? Can we receive more than 1,500 euros, if so in which cases? What are the supporting documents to bring to the taxman? Linternaute.com answers all your questions and explains to you, step by step, the procedure to follow to make your request for help.

The financial assistance of 1,500 euros only concerns VSEs, freelancers, micro entrepreneurs and liberal professions, says one in the document written by the services of Bercy, which you can find here. Your workforce must therefore be less than or equal to 10 employees. Does your business have to have a special status? No, rest assured, the help is aimed “at traders, artisans, liberal professions and other economic agents, whatever their status (company, individual entrepreneur, association, etc.) and their fiscal and social regime (including micro-entrepreneurs)“, can be read on the home page of taxes.

Be careful, keep in mind that your turnover must be less than one million euros. Your taxable annual profit must not exceed 60,000 euros. The conditions are strict:

• Either your business must have been the subject an administrative closure : this provision refers to the decree of March 15, 2020 supplementing the decree of March 14, 2020, which lists all of the establishments that must be closed such as museums, restaurants and nightclubs, deemed not essential to the life of the Nation . You can find the full list on the Vie-publique.fr website.
• Either she must have suffered a 70% turnover loss in March 2020 compared to March 2019. What happens if you started your business recently a month ago? Do not panic. The Ministry of Economy specifies that it is “the average monthly figure“which will be taken into account” between the creation date and the 1^er March 2020 “.”For companies that have not yet closed a financial year, the average monthly turnover for the period between the date of creation of the company and February 29, 2020 must be less than 83,333 euros“, can we read in the decree of March 30, 2020.

“Small entrepreneurs will be eligible for the solidarity fund in April from 50% loss of turnover, against 70% in March “, Bruno Le Maire said this Monday, March 30 at the microphone of BFMTV.

“The activity must have started before February 1, 2020 and there must not have been a declaration of cessation of payment before March 1, 2020, “adds Bercy.” Furthermore, holders of an employment contract or a retirement pension and entrepreneurs who benefited from at least two weeks of sick leave in March are not eligible“.

You are lost ? We summarize the conditions to benefit from the aid of the Solidarity Fund of 1,500 euros:

• Your turnover is less than a million euros,
• Your taxable annual profit does not exceed 60,000 euros,
• You have had a administrative closure or loss of turnover at least 70%,
• Your activity has started before 1^er February 2020,
• You have not declared a cessation of payment before 1^er March 2020,
• You never touch no retirement pension,
• You do not have no employment contract,
• You do not have not benefited from at least two weeks of sick leave in March.

The Solidarity Fund is made up of two floors. If you meet the conditions above, you can benefit from “aid equal to the loss of turnover declared in March 2020, up to a limit of 1,500 euros“, when the activity is not completely stopped. To determine the loss of turnover, the administration takes the following reference, to compare with the loss of turnover between” March 1, 2020 and the 31 March 2020 “:

“Restaurants, theaters, cafes, cinemas, all these, it is all-inclusive, 1,500 euros when their activity is closed, they can touch it“, said Bruno Le Maire.

In a second time, some entrepreneurs can benefit from additional assistance of 2,000 euros. Be careful, you must have at least one employee, and you must be unable to pay your debts within 30 days or your bank has refused you a cash loan. The Minister of Economy said he was ready to “go beyond” the 2,000 euros. “We know that 2,000 euros, even added to the 1,500 euros, can be a bit short for some businesses, some self-employed people who have employees, who have perhaps higher charges and who would be threatened with bankruptcy”, a he said.

It should be noted that financial assistance is paid for the month of March only, for the moment. In his dedicated document, Bercy specifies that the Solidarity Fund has been increased, for the moment, for the month of March only. Renewal only depends on whether or not the containment measures are maintained. “The solidarity fund will be maintained as long as the state of health emergency lasts“, wanted to reassure the minister this Monday, March 30.

To initiate procedures, you must go on the tax site, impots.gouv.fr, and as specified by the tax authorities, connect to your personal space, and not your usual professional space. Then go to your mailbox. Under the write button, “Write” the contact reason “I ask for help to companies weakened by the Covid-19 epidemic“should appear, click it. A form will appear. Here are the steps you need to take:

• You must start by checking a box certifying that you meet all the conditions on your business : “1 ° It started its activity before February 1, 2020; 2 ° It did not file a declaration of cessation of payment on March 1, 2020; 3 ° Its workforce is less than or equal to ten employees”.
• Enter the number of employees on CDD or CDI
• Fill in your details: last name First Name, quality (individual entrepreneur, manager of the company, chartered accountant, employee of the chartered accountant, Other), telephone and email.
• Indicate the SIREN and SIRET that identify your business, as well as the Region.
• Select the period : for now, there is only one (March 1 to 31, 2020).
• Then comes the calculation of the aid : you must check one of the boxes “My company is the subject of a ban on public reception during the period” or “My company suffered a loss of turnover greater than 70% over the period by compared to benchmark sales “. Depending on the box checked, you must indicate your turnover in 2019 and in 2020 for the period. The administration is responsible for calculating the differential and, ultimately, the amount of aid you can claim.
• Enter your bank details.
• There is the last part of the declaration of honor, where you just have to check the box “I certify on my honor that my company fulfills the conditions to benefit from this aid, the accuracy of the information declared as well as my company is up to date with its tax and social obligations as of March 1, 2020. Article 441-6 of the penal code punishes with two years of imprisonment and with a fine of 30,000 euros the fact of providing a false statement with a view to obtaining from a public administration or a body responsible for public service mission an allowance, payment or improper advantage“.

What happens if you wish to benefit from the additional flat-rate aid of 2,000 euros? In that case, you will need to contact the Region from April 15, 2020. A dedicated platform must be opened by the latter. “In order for the services of the region to be able to examine the request, the company will enclose a supported estimate of its cash impasse, a brief description of its situation showing the imminent risk of bankruptcy as well as the name of the bank whose company is client having refused him a reasonable cash loan, the amount of the loan requested and his contact in the bank, “he said. The remainder will also be paid by the DGFIP.

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