If the Ukrainian government imposes a new lockdown that affects local businesses, Ukrainian entrepreneurs can apply for one-time economic assistance and receive Hr 8,000 ($283) from the COVID-19 fund to continue working and avoid layoffs, according to a bill adopted by the parliament on Dec. 4.
Although the bill doesn’t specify what kind of businesses are eligible for the assistance, Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said on Nov. 26 that only officially registered entrepreneurs who work in the retail, hospitality, sports, culture or entertainment industries can apply for relief via the mobile application or website Diia.
Employees who have worked in a company for less than three months and did not pay a single social contribution tax in the third quarter of 2020, as well as those whose monthly wage exceeds $1,060, are not eligible for help, the bill states.
During a session on Dec. 4, the Ukrainian parliament also approved a tax holiday for the private entrepreneurs with an annual income of up to Hr 1 million ($35,350) who don’t hire workers and work in the retail sale of goods or provide personal customer services. According to the bill, they are exempt from the $8 unified social tax and $38 single social contribution from December 2020 to May 2021.
Firms that suspended their operations due to COVID-19 restrictions can now also benefit from rent relief through the rest of the coronavirus quarantine. Apart from that, small and medium-sized businesses that work in food service can receive government’s help during the quarantine and six months after it.
Ukrainian individual entrepreneurs who worked in spring during the quarantine and have children under the age of 10 will also receive economic assistance from the government.
The Ukrainian parliament adopted the stimulus package for businesses at the request of President Volodymyr Zelensky, which he announced on Nov. 24.
According to Zelensky, over one million Ukrainians whose businesses took a hit during the pandemic are expected to apply for aid.
To assist local businesses that will be forced to suspend operations and lose revenue if Ukraine imposes a new lockdown, the government will allocate Hr 10 billion ($353.5 million) from the COVID-19 fund, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. Ukraine is also ready to give another Hr 3.5 billion to help local enterprises retain their workers and pay the single social contribution, he said.
