The requests for payroll support for the companies that qualified for the first tranche as defined in the SSRP have been filed by now. It is expected that USZV will start making payments as of 11 May 2020. The following types of businesses that did not qualify for the first tranche of support, are eligible for a maximum of 3 months support as of 1 May 2020:
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Agriculture, forestry and fishing |
Repair of ships and floating structures |
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Rental and leasing activities |
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Services to buildings and landscape activities |
Repair of computers and personal and household goods |
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Civil engineering |
Advertising and market research |
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Construction of buildings |
Architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis |
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Specialized construction activities |
Legal and accounting activities |
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Programming and broadcasting activities |
Tax and audit activities |
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Publishing activities |
Other professional, scientific and technical activities |
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Manufacture of beverages |
Veterinary activities |
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Manufacture of furniture |
Real estate activities with own or leased property or on a fee or contract basis (excluding timeshare and condos) |
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Manufacture of textiles |
Hardware stores, household goods |
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Manufacture of wood products |
Wholesale and retail trade of motor vehicles and motorcycles |
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Repair and installation of machinery and equipment |
Repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles |
The deadline for filing these requests has been set at 22 May 2020.
Where to apply?
As with the first tranche of support, this program is executed by USZV. Requests for support must be made online and can only be processed after creating an online employer account with USZV on the SZV employer’s portal:
https://employerportal.szv.sx/EmployerPortal/UserAccountRequest/UserAccount/
Who will qualify?
The conditions to qualify for this support must meet the following conditions:
The business must provide a bank account at a local bank, payments made by SZV will be in Guilders.
How much support will I get?
The level of support provided is the same as provided under the first tranche. The support has a maximum of 80% of the employee’s salary as registered at SZV (the official daily wage) with an individual minimum support of ANG 1,150 and a maximum of (80% of) ANG 5,651.36 (wage limit for Medical and Accident Insurance). Furthermore, the support is limited based on the actual loss of revenues experienced:
|
Level of Revenue Loss |
Level of Payroll Support |
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More than 20% but less than 50% revenue loss |
60% payroll support |
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More than 50% but less than 80% revenue loss |
70% payroll support |
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More than 80% revenue loss |
80% payroll support |
The loss of revenue for determining the support will be established based on comparing the revenues of April 2020 with the same for the month of April 2019 as stated in the Turnover Tax Return for those months. The same will be done with the Turnover Tax returns of May 2020 with May 2019 to determine the revenue loss percentage for establishing the June support and so on.
The payroll support is based on the actual payroll of the month prior to the month for which the support will be paid. If salaries paid in April have been reduced as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, this lower amount will be the basis for calculating support.
Example
A company has 7 employees. Of these employees 1 earns ANG 1,300, 5 of these employees earn ANG 3,500 per month and 1 earns ANG 9,000. All employees are fulltime. The company has a proven revenue loss of 60%. The calculation of payroll support is as follows:
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Employee |
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ANG |
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1 |
ANG 1,300 * 70% = ANG 910 |
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1,150 |
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2-6 |
ANG 3,500 * 70% * 5 |
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12,250 |
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7 |
ANG 5,651.36 (maximum) * 70% |
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3,956 |
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Total support |
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17,356 |
The support provided in this example is approximately 62.4% total payroll.
In order to enable SZV to process all the information, companies must file their April tax and social security returns before 15 May 2020.
Companies will be required to sign a declaration before the payment of the support can be released. This will ensure payroll support received is based on accurate information and that the employees will receive their salaries as intended by the Support Plan. Non-compliance with the stipulations of the Support Plan might lead to sanctions against the employer which include repayment of (a part) of the government contribution regarding the Support Plan.
Review
The companies that received PSP or APSP will be subject to review. SZV, in cooperation with the Inspectorate of Taxes and the St. Maarten Audit Team will be conducting audits to determine whether the support provided was correctly claimed.