Entrepreneurs who have at least a 20% loss of revenue due to the corona measures can apply for NOW 5 for the months of November and December. This also applies to the current period with restrictions. With this scheme, they can continue to pay their staff and retain employees. The NOW 5 reimburses the salaries of employees with flexible contracts just like previous schemes.

The NOW 5 has largely the same conditions as NOW 4. The reimbursement rate is again 85 percent. The reference month for the wage sum is September 2021. The aim is for employers to be able to submit a subsidy application in December. Start-up entrepreneurs who started no later than September 30, 2021 can apply for an advance for the NOW 5 subsidy. About 1.5 billion euros have been reserved for NOW 5.

For the fourth quarter of this year, the cabinet is increasing the subsidy percentage of the Compensation for Fixed Costs (TVL) from 85% to 100%. Entrepreneurs can use the TVL if they suffer more than 30% revenue loss compared to the fourth quarter of 2019 or the first quarter of 2020. The maximum subsidy amount that an SME can receive will be 550,000 euros and 600,000 euros for non-SMEs. The cabinet is also adjusting the state aid limit from 1.8 million euros to 2.3 million euros now that the European Commission allows that space. Additionally, the European state aid limit for companies in fishing, agriculture, and horticulture has been raised. The new state aid limit applies from TVL Q4 2021.

The tax deferral for entrepreneurs is extended until the end of this year. Entrepreneurs who have never previously requested deferral or have already settled all debts can still apply for this. The quarterly returns for the end of 2021, which are normally paid in January 2022, also fall under the deferral.

The collection interest, an incentive to pay tax debts on time, will remain at nearly zero (0.01%) for another six months. Afterwards, the interest will gradually rise to the old level of 4%. This means that on July 1, 2022, the collection interest rate will go to 1%, and on January 1, 2023, to 2%, ultimately reaching 4% in two steps by January 1, 2024.

The cabinet is allocating 68 million euros for a specific support package to assist the cultural sector until the end of the year. These funds encompass a continuation of previous specific support: assistance for BIS and Heritage Act institutions and multi-year funded institutions at the National Cultural Funds, and support for creators through, among others, the national cultural funds. The supplementary scheme at the Fund for the Performing Arts, which compensates for capacity restrictions in institutions, will be adjusted to 85% of the tickets.

For amateur sports, the previous compensation schemes are being reopened for compensation of fixed costs and rental expenses. Municipalities will also have the opportunity to support ice rinks and swimming pools.

Professional sports are also being supported due to the prohibition of spectators. Professional sports can make use of regular support measures such as TVL and NOW.

The current tightness in the labor market offers job seekers and freelancers opportunities for a new job, a different job, or new assignments. The cabinet wants to help seize these opportunities by providing an extra boost for matching job seekers with employers in the short term, together with employers, the staffing industry, municipalities, and UWV. The cabinet is making an additional 40 million euros available for this purpose.

However, this generous support also has downsides: it is disruptive to the economy, does not always reach the right places, and places a significant burden on taxpayer money. The cabinet realizes that this combination of closures and generous compensation is unsustainable in the long term. This calls for a different balance as soon as possible. Therefore, the cabinet has submitted legislative proposals aimed at responsibly keeping society and the economy open, including the broad implementation of a corona access pass based on 3G, and a legal possibility to do this in certain sectors based on 2G. This provides the opportunity to find a different balance between entrepreneurial risk on the one hand and the use of public funds on the other. The cabinet will have broad discussions about this in the coming time with, among others, the House of Representatives and employee and employer organizations.

For questions about the corona support and recovery package, companies and workers can look at rijksoverheid.nl/supportpackage. Entrepreneurs can also visit the website of the Chamber of Commerce for more questions: kvk.nl/corona. If the answer to your question is not listed there, you can call the advisory team at 0800 – 2117. Workers and job seekers can also visit hoewerktnederland.nl.