FINANCIAL SUPPORT MEASURES DESIGNED TO SHORE UP INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES MIGHT BE DISTRIBUTED AS EARLY AS THIS MONTH
THE local government expects to begin distributing financial relief for employees and businesses in June, Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong said during a press conference on Friday.
The Executive Council (Exco) has completed discussions about the administrative regulations related to financial relief for local employees, freelancers and business owners. The regulation proposes a subsidy of 15,000 to 200,000 patacas for those eligible. Individuals must be local residents of Macau in order to receive the money.
The money will be distributed either through bank transfer or mail. The total budget for the plan is 6.6 billion patacas.
The local community has been concerned about some professionals, particularly freelancers without tax registration. On Friday the Secretary had good news for those professionals.
According to Cheong, taxi drivers, rickshaw drivers, tour guides, stall owners, street market vendors, water taxi drivers and fishermen belong to a special sector and may not have registered for taxes. The new regulation outlines a solution for some of these people.
The Secretary briefly mentioned that the government department responsible for the scheme will conduct background checks on any subsidy applicants from the concerned categories. Once they are deemed eligible, they will be granted 10,000 patacas.
Earlier this year, the Legislative Assembly (AL) passed an amendment of the 2020 budget bill, which includes this group of subsidies. This administrative regulation will come into effect tomorrow. It is estimated that a total of 274,000 employees, 7,000 freelancers and 38,000 businesses will benefit from the subsidy.
Eligible employees in Macau will see their salary subsidy deposited into their bank accounts on June 16, the government announced over the weekend. This is part of the MOP10 billion economic revival scheme announced by the government earlier this year.
If they have not registered their bank account detail with the Financial Services Bureau (DSF), they will get their subsidy in the form of check, which will be mailed out in batches from June 18. The check, in addition, must be banked by end of this year.
Employees in Macau who had an employment status registered with the DSF between January 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 will be preliminarily covered by the scheme. These employees will get MOP15,000 as salary subsidy due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, civil servants and employees who received MOP20,000 worth of tax refund for the fiscal year of 2018 will not be covered.
From June 2, employees can visit the DSF’S website to check their eligibility for the payment. If they are eligible, the money will be paid automatically without any application process needed. Otherwise, they can file an application to the DSF by June 29 with proofs of their employment during the concerned period.
Freelancers and business operators without any employee will also get MOP15,000, while certain freelancers, such as tour guides, tricycle riders and taxi drivers, get MOP10,000 instead.
Businesses with employees will be eligible to receive between MOP50,000 and MOP200,000, depending on the number of employees registered under their businesses with the DSF.
Companies covered by the same taxpayer identification number will be able to receive a maximum of 1 million patacas in subsidy grants.
Any company receiving government grants that then dismisses an employee without cause will be required to refund at least part of the grant.
Public utility companies – those that provide electricity, water, natural gas and other fuels – will be excluded from the support measures. In addition, entities providing public transportation or infrastructure services, financial services, formal education and higher education, as well as casino activities, are also excluded.
In order to check their eligibility, freelancers and business operators can visit the DSF’S website from June 11.