Coronavirus: further expansion and relaxation of schemes for entrepreneurs

Note: the date of this news item is April 28, 2020. Read the latest information about the emergency package for jobs and the economy.

Secretary of State Mona Keijzer (EZK): “Appropriate schemes for entrepreneurs usually take months or years. But many companies now have acute problems: corona forces us to sometimes act within a day. These economic crisis measures therefore do not stand still. The cabinet is currently working on additional support plans on top of the current emergency package for jobs and the economy and todays announcements. I will also discuss this week with a large sector such as hospitality, but also with smaller sectors that have been hit hard, such as the fairground industry.”

Extra credit helps entrepreneurs with liquidity to stay afloat in difficult times. Therefore, financing for entrepreneurs via the special corona scheme of the Borgstelling Midden- en Kleinbedrijf (BMKB) is relaxed again.

The term of a loan is extended to four years, so entrepreneurs have more time to repay it. Access to the BMKB is made more accessible: besides a detailed liquidity forecast, a turnover test can also be used. At the beginning of April, the ministry of EZK already lowered the premium of the scheme (from 3.9 to 2 percent) and increased the guarantee budget (from 765 million to 1.5 billion euros).

The budget of the SEED Capital scheme, through which the ministry of EZK provides capital to investment funds, is increased from 22 million to 32 million euros. With this scheme, the government supports innovative companies including startups in technological (such as high-tech and eHealth) and creative fields in obtaining venture capital from investment funds.

From April 29, 2020, entrepreneurs can also claim the Tegemoetkoming Ondernemers Getroffen Sectoren COVID-19 (TOGS) scheme based on their secondary activity registered in the Trade Register. The cabinet has given more than a quarter of Dutch businesses a tax-free gift of 4,000 euros because they have been directly affected by cabinet measures besides the economic consequences of the coronavirus.

The expansion concerns entrepreneurs who cannot claim the TOGS scheme with their registered main activity, while this would be possible based on their registered secondary activity. Analysis of reports from entrepreneurs at RVO shows that this registered secondary activity sometimes better matches the actual business activities. A requirement is that the entrepreneur meets the minimum requirements for turnover loss and fixed costs (both 4,000 euros) solely based on the registered secondary activity. The scheme can be found via rvo.nl/togs.

The increase of the guarantee ceiling of the Guarantee Business Financing (GO scheme) for corona from 400 million to 10 billion euros has been approved by the European Commission. Therefore, this corona scheme can officially open on Wednesday, April 29, 2020, for companies where the loan term will be six years.

With the corona scheme within the GO, the ministry of EZK helps both SMEs and large companies. This is done by guaranteeing bank loans (minimum 1.5 million – maximum extended to 150 million euros per company). The maximum guarantee percentage has now been increased from 50% to 80% for large companies and 90% for SMEs on the condition that they are affected by corona, as previously announced.

For questions about corona, companies can visit https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/coronavirus-covid-19 or https://www.rivm.nl/. Or go to the website of the Chamber of Commerce: https://www.kvk.nl/corona. If the answer to your question is not there, call the advice team at 0800 - 2117.

Entrepreneurs register for the expanded credit schemes (such as BMKB and GO) with their credit provider such as a bank. The wage cost compensation scheme (NOW) runs via the UWV and support for self-employed (TOZO) via https://krijgiktozo.nl. Guidelines for shops can be found at trade organizations. For tax measures, entrepreneurs can go to the Tax Administration Business via https://www.belastingdienst.nl/coronavirus.