The Government of the Generalitat will activate a new package of direct aid aimed at the sectors most affected by the new restrictions, which seek to reduce social activity in the coming days with the aim of containing coronavirus infections. The aid will have a value of 36 million euros and will be allocated to commerce, educational leisure, sports, and culture. Specifically, the executive will launch aid for retail commercial establishments of more than 400 square meters and businesses located in shopping centers, which with the new measures will have to close for ten days starting January 7, for a value of 2,500 euros per premises.
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These economic measures are in addition to those launched at the end of December to mitigate the impact of activity and mobility restrictions in the second wave of COVID-19, which include several lines of aid to compensate for the loss of income of the most affected sectors and groups. With the aim of ensuring that the money reaches the beneficiaries as quickly as possible, all calls will have a simplified and agile processing.
Direct support for economic activity
The aid with the largest budgetary allocation is directed at self-employed workers, one of the groups that have suffered most intensely from the effects of the pandemic. The Government has activated a package of direct aid of 2,000 euros from which up to 132,000 individual self-employed persons or micro-enterprises throughout Catalonia will benefit, and which will entail a public investment of 264 million euros. This aid is in addition to another line of 20 million that was launched last November, which was taken up by 10,000 self-employed workers.
Culture, leisure education, sports, restoration, aesthetics and beauty, nightlife, or fairs are other areas heavily affected by coronavirus containment measures, and the Government will also support these sectors with various lines of direct economic support. Thus, it will allocate 18.9M euros to cultural entities and companies, and 20M euros to neutralize the drop in activity of leisure education and extracurricular entities. Sports facilities, to compensate for limitations on public opening, will also be able to access extraordinary aid worth 25M euros.
Likewise, new support lines worth €116.8M have been activated for freelancers, SMEs, and micro-enterprises in the restaurant, aesthetics and beauty, nightlife venues, playgrounds, and fairs and festivals sectors. In addition, the Government has approved a decree-law to lighten the rental burden for commercial tenants who have seen their activity restricted.
Measures to cover housing needs
To combat the housing emergency, the Government is reinforcing the budget for rental aid with 26M euros, which will allow covering all applications that meet the requirements. 12M euros will be invested to facilitate accommodation for vulnerable families through the Agència de l'Habitatge de Catalunya, and 2M euros will be allocated to rehabilitation, within the Program for access to housing in rural areas. In this regard, the Government has also approved a decree-law that reinforces the protection of people at risk of residential exclusion against possible evictions while mobility limitations last.
Actions to assist vulnerable groups
The Generalitat will dedicate a total of 122.5M euros to intensify policies for assisting the most vulnerable groups in the face of the increase in social emergency caused by COVID-19. With this allocation, the budget for the Guaranteed Citizenship Income will be expanded, more contributions will be made to the Banc dels Aliments and the Creu Roja to cover basic food needs, and the instruments and policies of the basic areas of social services will be reinforced, among others. In parallel, the Government has created an autonomous IRPF deduction to prevent low incomes that in 2020 have a double payer, that is, who have been paid by a company and at the same time by the State, through an ERTE or unemployment benefit, from being penalized in the payment of this tax.
Other measures for indirectly affected sectors
In addition, the Generalitat will activate aid to support sectors that have been indirectly affected by the decrease in activity. This is the case, for example, of tourism and industry, which will have, respectively, 19M and 13M euros more, or public transport, which will benefit from an additional contribution of 253M euros to make up for the fall in income derived from the reduction in mobility.
New loans for restoration and commerce
Self-employed workers and micro-enterprises in the restoration and small business sector affected by the restrictions will be able to access a new financing line from the Institut Català de Finances and Avalis de Catalunya, with an initial allocation of 20M euros and a 100% guarantee. These are loans of 15,000 euros per recipient, with a term of 5 years and including a 1-year grace period. A measure that aims to boost the reactivation of businesses, facilitate liquidity and ensure the maintenance of jobs.
All information on economic measures can be consulted on the website of the Department of the Vice-presidency and of Economy and Finance.