Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 9 September 2020
94. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Finance if consideration has been given to allowing sole traders to access the employment wage subsidy scheme, as they would be entitled to if they were listed as a company director in circumstances in which all other qualifying criteria for the scheme are met. [22871/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) was legislated for in the recently enacted Financial Provisions (Covid-19) (No. 2) Act 2020. The objective of the EWSS is to support employment and maintain the link between the employer and employee insofar as is possible, as well as enabling employers scale back up their business.
The EWSS provides a flat-rate subsidy to qualifying employers based on the number of qualifying employees on the payroll. A sole-trader’s business may be a qualifying employer for the purpose of the scheme, the same as is the case for any other employer. As was the case under the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), sole-traders are not eligible to claim the EWSS in respect of their own employment as they are not employees – and further, may not necessarily be paid via the payroll system unlike proprietary directors who are obliged to have PAYE operated on any payments made to them personally.
The EWSS is a significant economy wide support for employers, but it is not the only measure that the Government have put in place to support businesses at this time, including those that are specifically targeted at sole-traders, such as the income tax loss relief measure that was announced in July as part of the Stimulus Package. This new once-off income tax relief is targeted at self-employed individuals carrying on a trade or profession who were profitable in 2019 but, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, incur losses in 2020. The measure allows such individuals to claim to have those losses (and certain unused capital allowances) carried back and deducted from their profits for the tax year 2019 providing a cash-flow boost of up to €5,000 or €10,000 as applicable.
Further, there are a range of other business support measures available, such as Credit Guarantee Scheme, the SBCI Working Capital Scheme, Sustaining Enterprise Fund, and the Covid-19 Business Loans Scheme.
