Revenue announces rules for business owners access to Covid-19 wage support

31 of August, 2020
Filed under: Latest News

The Revenue Commissioners have clarified the rules under which small business owners can avail of the new employment wage subsidy scheme (EWSS) as of Tuesday, following a recent U-turn by the Government.

The new subsidy, announced as part of the July Stimulus package, replaces the temporary wage subsidy scheme (TWSS), that was introduced earlier this year to help companies struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Government was forced into reverse position late last month after initially barring proprietary directors – people who own more than 15 per cent of a business – from being able to access it. The U-turn came after small business owners expressed anger, saying that excluding them from the scheme would leave many of them without any income.

Now the Revenue has outlined the conditions under which proprietary directors will be eligible to participate in the scheme, which pays a flat weekly sum of €151.50 or €203 depending on the normal earnings of the person.

The Revenue says that for small business owners to be eligible for the scheme, proprietary directors must be on the company payroll and must have been paid wages over the year to the end of June. In addition, their company must meet the necessary criteria, which includes having a tax clearance certificate and be facing a 30 per cent slide in business compared to last year.

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