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ARCHIVED - Another 37 million euros in rescue packages for the tourism and hostelries sectors in Murcia
The regional government implements phase 2 of its pandemic recovery aid program
The third wave of coronavirus contagion in Spain may be subsiding but the plight of businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors continues to be a desperate one, and despite the widespread relaxation of anti-pandemic measures in most parts of the country at present the calls for more financial aid to be supplied have been especially loud and frequent over the last couple of weeks.
In an effort to ease the situation in Murcia, on Tuesday the regional government signed an agreement with the CROEM business federation by which a further 37 million euros are to be made available to struggling businesses and self-employed workers, 35 million of which are to be written off as non-returnable subsidies. This is the second phase of a “rescue plan” directed fundamentally at businesses in the tourism and hostelries sector, and although it is not clear exactly what amounts might reach individual businesses it has been stated that 20 million euros are for bars and restaurants, 10 million for tourist accommodation businesses and 5 million for “nocturnal leisure” establishments and events venues.
The remaining two million are to be invested in promoting the gastronomy of the Region of Murcia and in an insurance policy to cover the costs incurred by businesses in the case of international visitors being forced to prolong their stays due to Covid infection.
In this context, the advice for any business owners in the Costa Cálida who believe they may be entitled to government aid is to seek the advice of their accountant or lawyer who should be able to provide more specific information about the aid available. No money will be paid automatially; business owners will have to apply for any funds available and accountants will be best-placed to assist with this type of information.
Fernando López Miras, the president of the Murcia government, presented the agreement as a series of “initiatives with which we intend to save our businesses and self-employed workers”, stressing that this latest raft of measures brings the total amount provided by his government to 74 million euros after the first phase of the plan was implemented in November.
The president also called for nationwide concessions to be made to businesses operating within the sectors, which have arguably been the worst hit by the Covid pandemic over the last year. Among his demands are a reduction of VAT in the sector to 4 per cent, tax holidays and a moratorium on social security contributions, but with central government resources already having been stretched by the ERTE furlough schemes since last March it is doubtful whether so much more subsidization can be afforded.
Yesterday the national government presented its own 11 billion package of aid for businesses, reminding the regional authorities that it had already committed 40 billion euros to the ERTE scheme and enabling businesses to maintain furloughed staff through the pandemic, sent 24 billion directly to the autonomous regional governments for their health services during the pandemic and purchased 136 million doses of covid vaccines.