How the state plans to help companies and the self-employed

The government has presented its first economy aid plan.

Finance Minister Eduard Heger. Finance Minister Eduard Heger. (Source: TASR)

On the last weekend before the end of the month (Tuesday, March 31), the Matovič government revealed how they plan to help employers, the self-employed and companies cope with the impact of the pandemic.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

On Sunday, PM Igor Matovič, together with Economy Minister Richard Sulík (SaS) Finance Minister Eduard Hegern (OĽaNO), Parliament Speaker Boris Kollár (Sme Rodina) and Deputy PM for Investment Veronika Remišová (Za Ľudí) presented their list of measures that the coalition discussed on Saturday.

Matovič stressed that the aid will only be granted to companies that do not lay off employees.

SkryťTurn off ads
Related article Economic measures in time of the coronavirus Read more 

The aid is coming at a time when companies and employers threaten lay-offs unless the government does something to alleviate the impact of the pandemic on the economy.

Employers have until Tuesday, the end of the month, to deliver notices to their employees. That is the latest deadline for them to ensure that the notice period starts in April. For those who get a notice on April 1, the notice period only starts as of May 1. Many companies are struggling to pay taxes and wages.

Economy Minister Richard Sulík said he was satisfied with the new measures. Details are to be published soon. The parliament is to convene next week to debate and pass them in a short-tracked procedure.

Finance Minister Heger said that the aid will amount to up to one billion a month, plus half a billion euros a month in bank guarantees.

SkryťTurn off ads

These are the measures for Slovak economy:

1. The state will pay 80 percent of the employee's salary in companies that have had to close in the past weeks. The employees who stayed at home will get their salaries from the state.

"It will cost the employer not one euro," Labour Minister Milan Krajniak said. The payment will also include tax and payroll taxes for the employee.

2. Contributions for the self-employed and employees in companies that have recorded a drop in revenues will depend on how much they were affected.

In April, the state will contribute €180 per employee for salaries in companies whose revenues dropped by more than 20 percent. Companies with a more than 40-percent drop in revenues will get €300 per employee from the state. Those whose revenues dropped by 60 percent will get €420 per employee, and those with more than 80 percent drop will get €540.

The calculations for March will be halved.

Krajniak said the aid was going to go to 800,000 employees and about 200,000 self-employed. These are vast administrative measures, Krajniak said.
The state will start paying the contributions on April 15.

3. Bank guarantees will amount to half a billion euros for employers, to be able to finance their business.

4. Employees in quarantine and parents who are at home with their kids will get 55 percent of their gross salary from the state. The cabinet and the parliament gave a green light to this measure earlier this week.

5. The payment of payroll taxes will be delayed for those whose revenues drop by more than 40 percent.

6. The deadline for paying income tax advance payments for those with a revenue drop of more than 40 percent will be postponed. Entrepreneurs will start paying the advance payments as of October.

7. Companies will be able to include loss carryback since 2014 (including) if they have not included their loss carryback so far.

©Index

Author: Martina Raabová

Top stories

Stock image.

Twice as many Ukrainians work in Slovakia now than before the Russian invasion.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad