Starting this afternoon, companies can apply for a fixed cost grant of up to EUR 800,000. The details.
It was a long tug-of-war with the EU Commission, but now the details are available for the second tranche of the fixed cost subsidy in Austria. Austria and Germany are so far the only countries that want to make use of this framework, said ÖVP Finance Minister Gernot Blümel in front of journalists this morning. In the course of the fixed cost subsidy I, the pandemic was reported as a natural disaster – the EU Commission has now “denied” this.
Starting this afternoon, it is possible to apply for a fixed cost subsidy with a cap of 800,000 euros per company. A decrease in sales of 30 percent is necessary. It is paid out in two tranches – first 80 percent of the requested amount, then 20 percent. A flat rate is possible for small businesses with an annual turnover of up to 120,000 euros. According to Blümel, up to 30 percent of the lost sales can be claimed without a tax advisor. What is new is that leasing rates and frustrated expenses – for example those for events or trips that were set before March 16, 2020 – are now included in the fixed cost catalog.
Since Friday there has also been “the Commission's permission to provide a fixed cost subsidy according to European requirements of up to three million euros” per company, emphasized Blümel. Here, too, a drop in sales of at least 30 percent is necessary; this model is also paid out in two tranches. But there are differences: a flat rate for micro-entrepreneurs, for example, is not included here. In addition, there is no fixed cost catalog. The application for the fixed cost subsidy can take place in both models, so Blümel – depending on which model is more favorable for the respective company.
In both cases, companies with sales over 40 million euros require a mandatory review of the subsidy. Companies with financial penalties of more than 10,000 euros are excluded.
The Green Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler said at the meeting with Blümel that they wanted to “support, relieve and invest out of the economic aid, which in most cases also included employment aid.”
