Immediate grant, unemployment benefits until June 2021 - and benefits

July 9, 2020   

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yisrael Katz presented the 'Economic Safety Net 2020-2021' plan this evening (Thursday) - a package of measures that will provide certainty and economic security for a year to employees, the self-employed and businesses during the Corona period. The plan includes until June 2021 - providing unemployment benefits to employees, a social assistance grant for the self-employed of up to NIS 15,000 every two months, an assistance grant for businesses, new businesses and more. How can you become a programmer, paramedic, or multimedia producer without investing a single penny? Some of the grants to the self-employed will be paid as early as next week, and in order to enable the remaining payments to those eligible as soon as possible, the plan will be submitted to the government for approval this Sunday. This plan constitutes a significant expansion of the economic assistance plan for victims of the Corona crisis presented by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance.

The following are the principles of the program:

A safety net for unpaid employees • Unemployment benefits - Full unemployment benefits until the end of June 2021 or until unemployment drops below 10% - Cancellation of 5-day waiting period between unemployment periods - Shortening the qualification period to 6 months instead of 12 months - Payment of double benefits until the end of June 2021 - Adding unemployment benefits also from January and February (starting July 2020) • Adjusting the start-up mechanism Reducing the minimum time qualifying for unemployment benefits to only 14 days. The move requires legislation in the Knesset. • Adjustment grant Payment of adjustment grants of up to NIS 4,000 per month to those aged 67 and over until December 2020. The move requires legislative amendment in the Knesset. • Employment-focused program - Concentration and improvement of employment data - in order to obtain a current picture of the scope of employment and its characteristics - Goals - Setting semi-annual goals to lower the unemployment rate - Training and placement of employees - Extensive increase in the scope of professional training and integration of employers in the training process. A safety net for the self-employed and businesses • Immediate assistance grant for the self-employed and business owners for the months of May-June 2020 A self-employed person or employee with a controlling interest who has received a previous assistance grant will be entitled to an immediate assistance grant in the amount of up to 7,500 shekels. The immediate grant is expected to be given to over 380,000 self-employed persons and business owners by the Tax Authority directly to their bank account without the need for any action on the part of the self-employed person or business owner. • Social assistance grant for the self-employed and business owners Self-employed individuals and business owners with an annual taxable income of up to 640,000 shekels per year who have experienced a decrease in turnover of at least 40% will receive a grant of 70% from taxable income up to 15,000 shekels every two months until June 2021. The move requires legislation in the Knesset. • Business Assistance Grant Businesses and self-employed individuals with an annual turnover of up to 100 million shekels, and whose sales turnover has decreased by at least 40% compared to the corresponding period, will receive a grant once every two months until June 2021 as detailed: - A business with an annual turnover of up to 300 thousand shekels - A small business assistance grant of 3,000-6,000 shekels per two months as detailed: - Up to 100 thousand shekels annual turnover - 3,000 shekels - 100-200 thousand shekels annual turnover - 4,000 shekels - 200-300 thousand shekels annual turnover - 6,000 shekels - A business with an annual turnover between 300 thousand shekels - 100 million shekels - A fixed expense reimbursement grant of up to 500 thousand shekels (up to 15% of the annual turnover). • New Business Assistance Grant Assistance grant for businesses established in January-February 2020, paid once every two months, until June 2021: - Exempt dealer (up to 100 thousand NIS annual turnover) - 3,000 NIS - Licensed dealer (over 100 thousand NIS annual turnover) - 4,000 NIS • Property tax grant Businesses with an annual turnover of up to NIS 100 million that have experienced a decrease of at least 60% in sales turnover will receive a refund for property tax expenses for the business until the end of June 2021. • Increasing subsidized loans with state guarantees and improved terms Increasing subsidized loans with state guarantees and improved terms - Expanding subsidized loans with state guarantees for small, medium and large businesses by approximately NIS 28 billion, bringing it to a total of NIS 50 billion. Increasing the scope of loans to up to 24% of the business turnover, introducing additional players and the possibility of taking out a loan from two different entities and addressing barriers to utilizing the framework. This is a significant expansion of the program that will allow many businesses to receive credit on attractive terms. The expansion of the fund requires the approval of the Finance Committee. • Business licensing Extension of the validity of the business license until the end of June 2021. The change requires a legislative process. Additional topics • Tax exemption on withdrawal of funds from a continuing education fund Tax-exempt withdrawal for illiquid further education funds (6 years or less), up to NIS 10,500 per month (the average salary), as a temporary measure for 6 months. The move requires a legislative amendment. • Expansion of withdrawal permit from veterans' deposit Withdrawal of up to half of the deposit balance for any purpose, for those released in the last five years. The move requires legislative amendment. • Assistance for special populations, health and enforcement response - Senior citizens - Mapping and providing solutions to the needs of the elderly - People with disabilities - Providing solutions to people with disabilities and at-risk populations - Strengthening epidemiological investigations, testing, outreach and enforcement - Citizens in isolation and quarantine • Acceleration program It will be determined, among other things, by the project's effectiveness, execution capacity, and impact on employment.