Government extends COVID guarantee scheme, tax deferral and moratoria

Government has announced a number of measures, including extending the existing COVID-19 Guarantee Scheme, to further assist businesses struggling under the impact of the virus and the measures introduced to mitigate it.

Finance minister Clyde Caruana said yesterday that the Guarantee Scheme (CGS), including the moratorium on the repayment of bank loans, has been extended by another six months to expire in September 2021.

The tax deferral scheme has also been extended, meaning employers can postpone paying all eligible taxes due until the end of the year. All payments of such taxes will therefore start as of May 2022. Furthermore, businesses will not incur any interest or penalties on taxes deferred as a result of the scheme.

Caruana said that businesses that have pending tax balances will be given a one-time concession to settle the tax owed. This includes an exemption on capital gains taxes when selling property and will apply according to the amount of revenue received from the sale of property by the date of the promise of sale agreement. The promise of sale agreement needs to be registered by March 2022.

Caruana noted that the Malta Development Fund was exploring ways to help mitigate the long-term economical effects of the pandemic, including providing safety nets for “good businesses” that are not in a position to pay their expenses at present.