Government Announces Measures in Budget 2021 to
Support Businesses through Covid Crisis
The government announced a range of measures in Budget 2021 to help businesses deal with the current crisis.
As part of the announcements, there is additional funding for the Local Enterprise Offices which will allow us to continue to support local businesses.
While details are not yet with us as of yet there were several significant announcements aimed at supporting businesses including;
- The Covid-19 Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS)- businesses forced to close due to Covid-19 restrictions will be able to claim up to €5,000 week from Revenue if they are forced to close due to level three or higher restrictions. Effective immediately and will run to March 2021.
- Debt warehousing provisions for SMEs will be extended for a period of a year with no interest.
- Vat Reduction for hospitality and tourism- 13.5% to 9%
- Commercial rates holiday extended into next year
- Extension of the Employment Wage Subsidy scheme through 2021
- Self-employed allowed to earn up to €480 a month on top of their PUP
- €30m fund administered through the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund
There were also several taxation changes announced
- For the self-employed, Earned Income Credit increased to €1,650
- The second USC band will increase slightly from €20,484 to €20,687
- The weekly threshold for the higher rate of employer's PRSI will also increase by €4 to €398
- Working from home allowance will remain at €3.20 per day. Remote workers can now also include the cost of broadband in their applications for rebates, as well as heating and electricity costs.
As always, the Local Enterprise Office is here to help. Please get in touch and we will help in any way we can, at localenterprise@kildarecoco.ie.
