Government allocates an extra €3.7bn to help industry, extends support package
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The cabinet has announced new measures to help companies faced with the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and is delaying plans to reduce some of the support measures next year.
In total, the cabinet is setting aside a further €3.7bn for new measures which will run until the end of March. This comes on top of the €34bn which has already been allocated to helping companies since the start of the outbreak last March.
Some of these will be focused on the hardest hit sectors, such as the travel industry, hospitality industry and event organisers, social affairs minister Wouter Koolmees told a press conference on Wednesday morning.
‘It is a puzzle and you have to look carefully at what is both best for companies and for the bill that eventually has to be paid,’ finance minister Wouter Hoekstra said.
‘We are convinced that we have to help the sectors which did not see this coming, such as hospitality,’ he said. ‘But we are also going to focus on retraining and finding new work, because some sectors will face problems well into the future.’
In addition, the government is setting up a new €130m fund to help workers and the self-employed who cannot apply for help under any of the other schemes. The fund, known as the Tonk, will be administered by local authorities.
The government has also agreed that there will be no value added tax on the coronavirus vaccines.
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