SME business owners to be exempt from lease payments for 3 months
On March 13, 2020, the Georgian government decided to postpone the payment of property and income tax for hotels, restaurants, tourist agencies and tour operators in Georgia by four months. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Small and medium-size business owners (SMEs) who have leased municipality-owned areas for their business activities have been made exempt from lease payments for three months to mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19 on the business, Mayor of Tbilisi, Kakha Kaladze stated today.
Small and medium sized business owners will not have to pay lease taxes from March to May 2020. If a particular business owner has leased and then rented the area to the other individual, the concession applies to all of them”, said Kaladze.
On March 13, 2020, the Georgian government decided to postpone the payment of property and income tax for hotels, restaurants, tourist agencies and tour operators in Georgia by four months.
Since February 26, 2020 Georgia has had 40 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with one already recovered and discharged.
Companies involved in Georgia's private sector will contribute to efforts against the new coronavirus outbreak, with the government providing a platform for pooling the joint resources.
The National Bank of Georgia recommends that consumers use contactless pay methods instead of paying by cash to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. It also urges people to use distant banking services instead of going to the banks.
What support can business expect?
The government of Georgia has presented an anti-crisis plan for Georgian businesses in order to ease the burden caused by the coronavirus crisis. The government responded to the demand of the hotels, restaurants, tourist agencies and tour operators in Georgia and decided to postpone payment of property and income tax by four months.
A price restraint mechanism is ready and has been agreed upon between business and the government. Specifically, prices for nine products will not increase in Georgia, said the Prime Minister’s Spokesperson Irakli Chikovani earlier today.
Banks operating in Georgia are ending the first quarter of 2020 with negative net profit as they have created reserves for handling the negative expectations caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia announced today that 42,000 farmers will be exempt from paying irrigation taxes in 2020.
The Georgian government will continue subsidising pre-existing bank loans for companies in the hotel industry over the next six months, said PM Giorgi Gakharia earlier today.
Georgian businessmen have asked Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia to extend benefits businesses enjoyed in the spring amid the coronavirus.
Member businesses of the Business Association of Georgia (BAG) have assessed the present business situation negatively in the third quarter of 2020, while their expectations for the next six months are positive, says the BAG Index, which is a joint product of the BAG, PMC Research Center and the ifo Institute for Economic Research.
About 41 per cent of Georgian companies have a low level of trust in the Georgian judicial system, while nine per cent have none at all, shows the Business Association of Georgian (BAG) Index, which is a joint product of BAG, PMCG Research Center and the ifo Institute for Economic Research.
The Georgian Business Association has asked the government of Georgia and the newly elected parliament to make changes to the Tax Code as soon as possible in order to extend the tax breaks imposed on businesses in the spring amid the coronavirus outbreak.