- The requirement not to be in arrears with taxes and insurance premiums when applying for a subsidy for part of the costs of running a business. How can I check this?
One of the requirements for receiving a benefit consisting in co-financing part of the costs of running a business is the absence of financial arrears related to the payment of taxes and contributions to social security, health insurance, the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund, the Labour Fund or the Solidarity Fund by the end of the third quarter of 2019.
At the outset, it should be pointed out that when submitting an application, it is sufficient to submit declarations of no arrears with the payment of taxes and insurance contributions to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) by the end of the third quarter of 2019, so it is not required to submit any document to confirm these circumstances.
However, it should be remembered that all statements included in the application are made by the entrepreneur under penalty of perjury.
Therefore, if you have any doubts as to the correct payment of your receivables to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) or the tax office, you can submit applications to the relevant authorities for certificates of no arrears in taxes and contributions due to the Social Insurance Institution. These applications can be submitted electronically, which would be most appropriate in the current situation. All the necessary information can be found on the website of the Social Insurance Institution and the government website of the biznes.gov.pl.
If you want to save time, you can also check the status of payments and arrears of insurance contributions on the Electronic Services Platform of the Social Insurance Institution by logging in to your own account (if you do not have an account yet, you can register on the website).
We also recommend that you contact the relevant tax office and the social security institution directly by phone, where they will provide you with information on how to obtain information about possible arrears effectively and quickly.
It should be noted that the statement of non-arrears must apply to insurance premiums and taxes due for the period until the end of September 2019. Therefore, if you have certificates or information about not being in arrears in payments for the previous period, it is worth verifying the status of the arrears again in order to rule out any inaccuracies.
- Employment Maintenance Requirement for Loan Forgiveness:
One of the aids provided under the anti-crisis shield is a low-interest loan for micro-entrepreneurs granted by the starosta. This loan can be forgiven later.
In order to apply for loan forgiveness, you must declare that you have maintained your employment. The provision of the Act reads exactly as follows:
“The loan with interest at the request of a micro-entrepreneur shall be written off, provided that the micro-entrepreneur does not reduce the number of full-time employees for a period of 3 months from the date of its granting in relation to the number of employees as at 29 February 2020. In the application for remission, the micro-entrepreneur declares that he has not reduced the number of employees.”
In other words, the loan may be forgiven if, for a period of three months from the date of its granting, the entrepreneur has not reduced the number of full-time employees in relation to the number of employees as at 29 February 2020.
The provision does not directly indicate the manner in which the number of employees should be calculated, but it should be considered that the correct interpretation is that maintaining the employment status does not mean the inability to dismiss the employee and hire a new one. It is only important that the number of FTEs does not decrease compared to 29 February 2020.
If this state of affairs cannot be maintained, the entrepreneur will be obliged to repay the loan with interest.
It should be remembered that in the application for loan forgiveness, the entrepreneur submits a statement that the number of employees has not been reduced under pain of criminal liability for making false statements.
- The Anti-Crisis Shield and entrepreneurs settling their taxes on the basis of the tax card.
Demurrage allowance:
Entrepreneurs who are natural persons and settle their tax in the form of a tax card can also take advantage of the demurrage allowance. The benefit is available both to those who benefit from the VAT exemption and to those who are VAT taxpayers. However, the conditions that must be met in order to receive the benefit, as well as the amount of the benefit, will vary in both cases.
Due to the inability to determine revenue, entrepreneurs who settle on the basis of a tax card and are exempt from VAT do not have to report a decrease in revenue. Each time, they can apply for a demurrage allowance in the amount of 50% of the minimum wage in 2020, i.e. PLN 1,300.
However, it should be remembered that you must have started your business before 1 February 2020, as well as that you are subject to social insurance only as an entrepreneur, which also applies in this case.
The self-employed, who are VAT payers, must meet the standard conditions for granting the benefit. They are obliged to keep records of revenues for the purposes of VAT settlements, so they have the opportunity to demonstrate a decrease in revenues, which is a necessary condition for obtaining the above-mentioned revenues. Provide. In order to receive the demurrage benefit, they must demonstrate a decrease in revenue of at least 15% compared to February 2020. In this case, the demurrage allowance amounts to 80% of the minimum wage in 2020, i.e. PLN 2,080.00
The demurrage allowance is not subject to contributions and taxation.
Co-financing of part of the costs of running a business:
A necessary condition to be met is to demonstrate a decrease in economic turnover, understood as a decrease in sales of goods or services in terms of quantity or value. The amount of the subsidy will also depend on the amount of the inheritance. It must therefore be held that, if it is not possible to demonstrate a decrease in turnover, the benefit is not due.
- Combining benefits from the anti-crisis shield for the self-employed.
The possibility of obtaining funding from various sources may be limited. An entrepreneur will be entitled to exemption from the obligation to pay contributions to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) regardless of receiving other types of support. Unfortunately, the situation is different when it comes to demurrage benefits and co-financing of the costs of running a business, as it has been explicitly indicated that “An entrepreneur may not receive a subsidy in the part in which the same costs of running a business have been or will be financed from other public funds.” Therefore, the possibility of taking advantage of further aid under the anti-crisis shield will depend on the individual situation of the entrepreneur.
