Update on Dutch government COVID support

Consequences for cross-border businesses

At the end of May, the Dutch government announced that it would extend its COVID support package for businesses by another three months. At the same time, we are seeing that the economy is picking up. The virus containment measures are expected to be phased out in the autumn. What does this mean for your business?

What you need to know:

1. The Temporary Emergency Bridging Measure for Sustained Employment (NOW scheme) will be extended until 30 September 2021.
2. The tax holiday scheme will expire on 1 October. The rate of late payment interest will be 0.01% until 31 December 2021; this rate will be increased by 1% every year after that.

Re 1: NOW scheme

The NOW scheme has been extended until 30 September 2021. The new wage bill reference month will be February 2021.

NOW6 grant

You can apply for a NOW6 grant until 30 September 2021 if you are suffering a loss of revenue due to the pandemic. This will be the last NOW period. To qualify, your loss of revenue must be at least 20% for a defined three-month period and the decrease in your wage bill cannot exceed 10%. In determining the grant, allowance will be made for no more than 80% of your loss of revenue. Employers will be subject to a best-efforts obligation to offer their employees job coaching so that they can transition to a new job.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or one of my colleagues if you are unsure whether to apply for a NOW6 grant or if you require more information about the conditions or choosing the right reference period. We would be happy to help you explore the best options for you and your business.

NOW attestation requirement

We would remind you that, in some situations, you will be required to submit a third-party statement or an accountant’s report for the purposes of the final settlement of the grant.

Your Accon International adviser can provide such a statement or report for you. We would like to ask you to contact your adviser at your earliest convenience as this will take some time.

Friendly reminder

If you have been awarded a NOW1 grant, you are required to submit the request for final settlement and the accompanying statement or report by 31 October 2021 at the latest. The submission deadline for a NOW2 grant is 5 January 2022. We expect that the rules for submitting a third-party statement or an accountant’s report will be eased in the final settlement process of NOW3 and subsequent grants.

Re 2: End of tax holiday

The tax holiday scheme will expire on 1 October 2021. From that date onwards, the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration expects you to resume your tax payments. You will be required to start repaying any tax debts you have incurred on 1 October 2022 at the latest.

Looking beyond the pandemic

What will your business look like after the pandemic? Can you start repaying your tax debts before the crisis is over or do you have to wait until after? How will this affect your cash position?

These are questions your Accon International adviser can help you answer. They will sit down with you to look at your cash resources and how they are developing, and prepare a liquidity forecast so that you have management information. Your adviser can also assist you in applying for an extended tax holiday to make sure you can fulfil your payment obligations in  the coming months. But the government support package will inevitably be cancelled at some point. With this in mind, we urge you to use the coming period to look beyond the pandemic and explore your options for after.

Accon International: your partner

What are your thoughts about the outlook for your business? How do you guarantee its continuity? We can help you reflect on your strategy and your financial situation, so that you can change course if necessary before it is too late. For more information, please contact your accon■avm adviser or send an email to international@acconavm.nl.