Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 September 2020
245. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Finance if taxi drivers will be transferred to the wage subsidy scheme in view of the fact they have lost 80% of their business and have been removed from the pandemic unemployment payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23605/20]
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 able to claim the EWSS in respect of their own employment as they are not employees.
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.
As regards the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, the position with respect to individuals’ entitlements to supplementary welfare payments is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection.
