Now, instead of government support targeting select industries including hospitality and catering, the government says all companies with a turnover decrease of at least 30% from March 2019 and some less-affected companies will be able to apply to have employee downtime covered from the state budget.
Some companies with a turnover decrease of at least 20% will also be able to apply for state support.
Appearing in an online press conference March 26, PM Krišjānis Kariņš said however that only companies qualified as conscientious tax payers at the State Revenue Service will qualify for support.
As reported, the state previously wanted to cover crisis-induced employee downtime across 40 industries, with an estimated €102 million to be spent on the task. Support has now been extended significantly.
Finance Minister Jānis Reirs previously said downtime compensations could be paid out to about 150,000 employees across Latvia.
