At a press conference held yesterday, 5th January 2021, the Government announced details of a revision of Malta's Wage Supplement scheme, which will see Covid-19 business aid no longer be calculated on the basis of an entity's NACE categorisation, but on loss of turnover. This is a key change in approach and likely to impact many businesses locally.
A new method for calculating wage support for businesses hit by the pandemic had in fact been announced in the 2021 Budget, relative to which further details were given during yesterday's press conference. The support level will be calculated according to the difference in turnover declared by a business over a six-month period between March and October 2019, against turnover declared over the six months between March and October 2020, and shall be determined as follows:
Businesses that witnessed a 55% (or more) loss will be entitled to €800 per month for full timers and €500 per month for part timers;
- Those that witnessed a drop between 45% and 54% will be entitled to €640 per month for full-timers and €400 per month for part-timers;
- Those that witnessed a drop between 35% and 44% will be entitled to €480 per month for full-timers and €300 per months for part-timers;
- Those that witnessed a drop between 25% and 34% will be entitled to €320 per month for full-timers and €200 per month for part-timers;
- Those that witnessed a drop between 10% and 24% will be entitled to €160 per month for full-timers and €100 per month for part-timers;
- Businesses that incurred a loss of less than 9% in turnover will no longer be eligible to benefit from the Wage Supplement scheme.
According to information publicly available:
(i) businesses that had to close down during the pandemic in terms of law, such as bars, will receive the maximum Wage Supplement, i.e. €800 per month for full-time workers;
(ii) in the case of businesses that are VAT exempt and those having recently applied for a VAT number, the level of support to be paid shall be determined according to the current scheme (Annexes A, B & C) – i.e. pre- these revisions – which system is based on the business's NACE code categorisation;
Moreover, the revised Wage Supplement scheme will also benefit businesses who have replaced workers with new workers, said Supplement being back dated to October 2020 in that case.
Further details can be found on the Malta Enterprise website in the following link: https://covid19.maltaenterprise.com/current-scheme-2021/
How can we help?
Should you require any assistance relative to how your business and / or you personally may benefit from the 2021 Wage Supplement Scheme, please do not hesitate to reach out to us personally.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
