Zelensky presents business support measures during lockdown

Bills on measures of economic support for citizens and businesses in connection with quarantine restrictions will be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada in the near future, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

He said this in a video blog posted on his Facebook page, the press service of the head of state reported.

According to the President, the developed legislative initiatives, in particular, will provide for the following: individual entrepreneurs and employees whose field of activity falls under the quarantine will receive financial assistance in the amount of UAH 8,000. According to estimates, over a million citizens of Ukraine will be able to receive assistance under this program, and its total amount will be almost UAH 10 billion.

In addition, business entities will receive one-time financial assistance to save jobs. "This will be an amount proportional to the so-called downtime, up to UAH 8,000 per employee," the President noted.

Enterprises whose work is terminated due to quarantine restrictions will be reimbursed for the cost of paying a unified social tax (UST) for employees. According to the head of state, this is almost UAH 1.5 billion for about 120,000 legal entities.

In addition, tax holidays are envisaged. If the restrictive measures are tightened, 200,000 individual entrepreneurs of the first group will be exempt from paying all taxes and fees, including UST.

Zelensky also noted that business support programs, which successfully worked during the spring lockdown, are being restored. "This is financial assistance to individual entrepreneurs who have children under 10 years old. This is compensation for partial unemployment," Zelensky said.

The President noted that small and medium-sized businesses have already received more than UAH 13 billion under the "Affordable Loans 5-7-9%" program. "It is important that the "5-7-9" program will be continued and expand its capabilities this year and in 2021," he added.

“We very much hope that the Verkhovna Rada will support all the above mentioned important steps," the President stressed.

Zelensky also called on citizens to support their favorite cafés and restaurants by ordering food delivery from them.

As Ukrinform reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the government to develop a comprehensive program of measures to support small and medium-sized businesses during a lockdown.

On November 11, the Cabinet of Ministers introduced a weekend lockdown in Ukraine - from November 14 to 30.

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