The Tax Authority from Israel recently announced that small business owners, who have suffered due to the pandemic, can now request a grant of NIS 300,000 from them. This good news came on Thursday amidst unrest regarding the decision of the coronavirus cabinet to not reopen small businesses.
The grant will be awarded to those small business owners who have witnessed a reduction in activity by 25% or more. However, this declining activity should have occurred between the months of September and October. The operations and revenues will be compared to the figures of the previous year in the same months.
Israel Katz, the Finance Minister, discussed this news as well. He stated that the ministry has been working on creating a financial safety net for quite some time. According to him, they have spread the net and it is working well. He went on to say that finance will be provided to the public for as long as they need, given the uncertain situation.
The Minister promised that he will deal with commerce and open businesses the same way he did with open shops. He stated that he is fully committed to the cause and will be personally supervising the work being conducted by the Tax Authority. Moreover, he urged business owners to strictly abide by all health regulations in order to ensure a low infection rate and continue market activity.
Business owners have been given permission to submit requests for the grants by February 15th, 2021.
The business owners who resumed operations back in the months of January and February have also been deemed eligible to apply for the grants. However, their thresholds for earning in the first few months of activity should meet the requirements outlined by the Tax Authority.