Extended crisis measures for businesses
The governing parties, the Center Party and the Liberals have announced that several measures taken during the crisis will be extended. These include extended support periods for short-term work, tax deferrals and retraining support.
In the case of short-time work the government will temporarily propose changes to the rules on the length of support periods and extend the temporary rules on the amount of support. Companies will be able to temporarily receive support for a longer period than the six plus three months. The main features of the proposed temporary extension are that:
- Support can be granted until June 30, 2021, regardless of when the company started using short-time work.
- The current levels will remain in place until 31 March 2021, i.e. in January-March the subsidy rate will be 75%, which is the same level as this year. From April 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021, the subsidy rate will be 50%. From July 1, 2021, ordinary rules will apply.
- The proposed rule change needs to be referred and reviewed by the legislative council, and is planned to enter into force on February 15, 2021. The rules will be applied retroactively from December 1, 2020. The intention is that there will be no need for a break for companies that have applied short-time work as of March 2020 and thus, as of November 30, 2020, reach the maximum support period under ordinary rules.
The exact wording of the proposal will not be clear until Parliament makes a decision, which may not happen until January 2021. An extension has been widely advocated, so a majority in Parliament should support the proposal, although there may be some details that are unclear until the decision is made.
The possibility of deferral of tax payments is proposed to be extended for an additional year for all those who have been granted a deferral under the new rules.
Conversion aid which targets companies that have lost turnover between March and July compared to the same period in 2019, is proposed to be extended for another three months so that it can also be applied for August-October 2020. The aid is aimed at companies that have lost at least 50% of their turnover during this period compared to the same period in 2019.
In this serious situation, with the spread of the virus increasing and new restrictions being imposed, the economy is affected. We need to support viable companies to get through the crisis. Through our collaboration with Almega, IT&Telecom companies have, among other things, requested extended crisis measures for companies. The compensation for short-time work has been an effective measure when it comes to retaining companies and jobs. Together with the proposals for extended restructuring support and deferral of tax payments, companies and jobs may have a greater opportunity to emerge from the crisis.
IT&Telecom companies continue to monitor developments and will update with news on the current situation.
Link to the government website: https://www.regeringen.se/pressmeddelanden/2020/11/ytterligare-krisatgarder-for-foretag/