New COVID-19 relief schemes announced

Following the impact of COVID-19 on local Maltese enterprises, the Government of Malta, through Malta Enterprise, has introduced a number of schemes aimed at minimising the effect of the current instability brought about by this global pandemic. Two of these schemes include:

The provision of fiscal assistance – Postponement of payment of certain taxes

This incentive provides a two-month extension to enterprises (including self-employed) to pay Provisional Tax, VAT and National Insurance contribution on salaries. This shall apply for taxes owed until 30 April 2020. It is important to note that all tax forms should be submitted according to normal deadlines. The application form can be found at the following link, following the successful log in using one’s e-ID credentials: https://eid.gov.mt/auth/Account/Login/cd4f5aaec4104517bfb1f403115e96ee?minLevel=1.

Facilitation of Teleworking Activities (via the Business Development and Continuity Scheme)

This scheme is intended to support employers/self-employed in their investment in teleworking technologies, which shall aim to partially cover the costs of teleworking solutions.  The support shall be limited up to €500 per teleworking agreement and €4,000 per undertaking. The below provides an extract as to which expenses are considered to be eligible for the Teleworking Support Application.

1. Eligible expenses

The grant shall be awarded against 45% of the eligible cost which must be incurred after the 1st of March 2020. The following costs are eligible for this cash rebate: a) Purchasing and/or leasing of computer hardware (included operating systems) which are considered portable including installation and setting up of connectivity software. b) Communication solutions (hardware and software) that allows different users to connect to their place of work (VPN, Point-to-point connection etc.) Call for the Facilitation of Teleworking Activities (Version 1.0)

2. Application

The application and below documentation should be submitted by email on covid19@maltaenterprise.com As part of the application, the applicant will be required to provide the following: - Signed Teleworking Agreement commencing not earlier than 1st March 2020. - Declaration that no previous teleworking arrangement was in place in the last 12 months. - A short explanation on how the teleworking arrangement will function explaining how employees will have access to company data (ex. through VPN or Cloud Services).

Please note that the application for Facilitation of Teleworking Activities should be submitted by 31 March 2020.

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We will keep on publishing updates as soon as they are made public. In the meantime, you can get in touch with one of our experts, who will be able to discuss with you how the above measures will affect your organization and guide you accordingly.

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