Companies and freelancers whose turnover decreased by more than 30% compared to 2019 and who are part of the most affected sectors (from hospitality to catering, commerce, activities related to culture and sport) can benefit from this fund. Direct aid will cover up to 40% of the decline in revenue for micro-enterprises and self-employed workers (up to 10 employees), and up to 20% for other enterprises: for a fixed amount of 3 thousand euros for self-employed workers under an estimated tax regime. objective (similar to sector studies), and for the others for an amount between 4 thousand and 200 thousand euros.
Aid for the restructuring of financial debt
The second fund activated in mid-March has an endowment of three billion euros which will have to be used to accompany the processes of restructuring the financial debt with State guarantees. In fact, it extends the possibility of accessing subsidized loans with guarantees from the Ico, the Instituto de crédito oficial (which, as mentioned, has given guarantees for 124 billion in loans) until 31 December.
In November 2020, measures had already been taken to facilitate the payment of these debts, extending the grace period for the principal payment to two years and extending the loan repayment term to eight years. The criteria for accessing such aid and the methods of disbursement will be established by the government, in collaboration with businesses and banks. Certainly, direct aid can also be granted to self-employed and small and medium-sized enterprises in order to reduce their debt.
Medium-sized enterprise recapitalization fund
For cases in which the previous measures are not sufficient, a one billion euro fund is created for the recapitalization of companies affected by Covid, aimed at strengthening the balance sheets of companies that were in profit until December 2019, but which are addressing solvency problems due to the pandemic. The fund will be managed by Cofides, a public-private company. The aid will be provided in the form of ordinary loans, equity loans, capital or other.
The measures introduced from 2020
At the beginning of February, the Spanish government had extended a series of aid for self-employed workers until the end of May, managed, in the pandemic, through the Regions. For the suspension of activity, the aid is equal to 50% of the minimum contribution base, which rises to 70% in the case of a large family with no other income. The beneficiary will not have to pay social security contributions. Self-employed workers whose turnover has decreased by 50% compared to 2019 (previously it had to be 75%) receive aid in proportion to the contribution base (and with a long series of cases also linked to the region to which they belong).