Companies and individuals who are still seeing their profits hit by the pandemic and travel disruption will be able to defer their employer and employee Social Security contributions – 12.5% of total wage costs – and GST for the final quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 for five years.
The move comes following the termination of the Co-Funded Payroll Scheme, under which struggling firms received subsidies to pay staff wages, at the end of last month.
The Business Disruption Loan Guarantee Scheme, where the government underwrites 80% of loans up to £500,000, has also been extended to 31 December 2021, with three other support schemes, providing up to 80% of fixed costs, to continue until March 2022.
Treasury Minister Susie Pinel said that the Co-Funded Payroll Scheme may be re-introduced if conditions worsened.
She said: ‘The CFPS was established as an emergency measure to protect employment when businesses were required to close. It has been extremely effective in meeting this objective.
‘As we are now in the recovery phase, there are new challenges facing businesses, including labour shortages, and we must ensure our business-support measures are adapted to these new circumstances.
‘Even in the most-affected sectors, more than 85% of businesses no longer qualify for CFPS as they are recovering, but they may still face cashflow difficulties.
‘Deferrals will provide a high level of cash support in a much more even way and
are available to all businesses in affected sectors.
‘We are also committed to reviewing our support measures and businesses should plan and invest with the confidence that the CFPS will be reintroduced if there is a need for public-health restrictions to return in the future.’
Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham said that the government would ‘continue to support businesses that were most severely affected by the pandemic and are still working through the recovery phase’.
‘Although circumstances have largely changed for the better, there remains considerable pressure on some sectors,’ he said.
‘The Visitor Attractions and Events Scheme, Visitor Accommodation Support Scheme and the Fixed Cost Support Scheme for those businesses connected to events will run until March 2022 and the additional support announced today will help businesses to manage the recovery process as we move in to 2022.’
Businesses wishing to defer their Social Security contributions and GST payments will need to apply to the government. Further details are due to be issued by Revenue Jersey.
