Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 December 2020
134. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the supports available to sole traders who are also PAYE employees and who have not lost employment due to Covid-19 but who find themselves still covering the costs related to their self-employment and have lost all income related to that self-employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39953/20]
View answerI am keenly aware that businesses are making a massive sacrifice to protect their communities and I am committed to ensuring that the Government will offer as much assistance and support as possible. My Department has worked to ensure that appropriate supports are in place for businesses that require finance as they develop their response to their exposure to impacts arising from COVID-19. The uptake of these supports has been robust and indicates that businesses are taking action in response to this period of disruption.
Budget 2021 also provides a significant package of tax and expenditure measures to build the resilience of the economy and to help self-employed and vulnerable but viable businesses across all sectors. We are providing for an extension of the tax warehousing scheme to include repayments of Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme funds owed by employers and preliminary tax obligations for the adversely affected self-employed.
So as to ensure that all self-employed taxpayers can benefit from the losses provision introduced in the July Stimulus, we are also providing that debt warehousing provisions be extended to include the 2019 balance and 2020 preliminary tax to allow such taxpayers to defer payment for a period of a year with no interest applying.
The Minister for Finance is also delivering on the Programme for Government commitment to equalise the Earned Income Credit with the PAYE credit by raising it by €150 to €1,650.
These measures are in addition to the €7 billion July Stimulus, which includes the Wage Subsidy Scheme extended through 2021, the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, grants, low-cost loans, write-off of commercial rates and deferred tax liabilities, all of which will help to improve cashflow amongst self-employed.
COVID-19 Business Loans up to €25,000 are available through Microfinance Ireland. The loans can range from €5,000 to €25,000.
My colleague, Heather Humphreys, TD, Minister for Social Protection, recently opened applications for the newly revamped Enterprise Support Grant of up to €1,000 for self-employed recipients exiting the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, as they get back on their feet following COVID-19. This grant is aimed at sole traders such as plumbers, electricians, carpenters, taxi drivers and so on, who do not pay commercial rates.
