Enterprise and industry

On 8 april the Government adopted an ordinance on rent rebates for certain vulnerable sectors for the period 1 January–31 March 2021. The adopted ordinance means that the rebate scheme enters into force and can be applied for as of 3 May. The decision follows directly from the approval of the rebate scheme by the European Commission last week and is based on an agreement between the governing parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

In January this year, the Government announced that the State aid to businesses that rent properties would be reintroduced for the first quarter of 2021. As a result of the increased community transmission and the negative economic impact on many businesses, the Government now also proposes that this rent rebate be extended for the period 1 April–30 June 2021. The Government’s proposal is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

To save jobs and businesses, it has been proposed that turnover-based support for sole traders and trading partnerships in which at least one partner is a natural person be extended to cover May and June 2021. The proposal is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

The Government today decided to introduce turnover-based support for trading partnerships in which at least one partner is a natural person. This support covers the period March 2020–February 2021 and can be applied for as of 29 March. Turnover-based support for trading partnerships is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

To mitigate the economic impact of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, the Government has proposed that the State aid in support of certain commercial tenants receiving a rent rebate – introduced in spring 2020 – be reintroduced for a three-month period, January–March 2021. Today, the Government notified the support to the European Commission for approval. The Government intends to adopt the legal framework as soon as the support is approved by the Commission.

The Government previously announced that turnover-based support for sole traders would be extended until the end of April 2021. Today, the Government can announce that in connection with the extension of the turnover-based support for sole traders, a possibility will be introduced for sole traders who have received unemployment benefit during the support period in their application and sole traders who have taken parental leave or sick leave during the reference period to also access the extended turnover-based support.

The situation facing the package tour industry is serious. The pandemic has created a situation in which many travellers have not received refunds for trips that have been cancelled by either party or cut short. The Government has therefore adopted an ordinance on a government loan to package tour operators to enable them to repay their outstanding debts to travellers.

To mitigate the economic impacts of the increasing spread of the virus, the Government proposes that the State aid measure in support of certain commercial tenants receiving a rent rebate – introduced in spring 2020 – be reintroduced for January–March 2021, i.e. for a further three months. This measure is temporary and designed for companies in certain vulnerable customer-facing sectors that have been hit hard financially by the pandemic. The proposal for reintroducing this State aid measure is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

Businesses that are unable to operate as a result of a closure decision under the new Pandemic Act will be able to receive financial support to cover their fixed costs during the closure. Up to 100 per cent of the costs will be reimbursed. The proposal is based on an agreement between the Government, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

As the Government previously announced, turnover-based support for sole traders – which currently applies for the period March to July 2020 – will be extended to include the period August 2020 to February 2021. The Government also previously announced the introduction of a specific turnover-based support targeting trading partnerships, including limited partnerships in which at least one partner is a natural person. This support will cover the same period, that is March 2020 to February 2021. Today, the Government can announce that the level of support for November 2020–February 2021 will be raised from 75 to 90 per cent. The Government’s proposal is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.