Ardwell Irion
PHILIPSBURG--A total of 725 employers submitted requests for payroll support from the St. Maarten Support and Relief Plan (SSRP) via Social and Health Insurances SZV by the 12:00 midnight Wednesday deadline.
Information requested from the cabinet of Finance Minister Ardwell Irion on Thursday stated that the 725 employers represent a total of 8,527 employees. The minister’s cabinet said the applications are still being reviewed.
SZV has an active employer base of approximately 2,000 businesses, more than 7,000 companies are active at the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry (COCI), and estimates indicate that some 40 per cent of the St. Maarten workforce is being affected by the coronavirus COVID-19 crisis.
When asked on Wednesday why he believed the number of applications up to that time (358) was not low, Irion said that while more employers had submitted applications up to Wednesday’s tally, all required documentation had not been supplied.
He said also that payroll and income support are both grants and do not have to be paid back to government. Government will also not deduct taxes or premiums owed to SZV from the payroll support being given to companies. This will also be the case for the “lockdown support.”
On the issue of taxi licence holders and help drivers (help chauffeurs), he said both can qualify for income support from government once they have legitimate licences and permits.
A review committee consisting of one representative from government, one from SZV and one independent representative will follow up on the applications during and after review. The names of the review committee members have not been disclosed.
Payments are scheduled to take place during the week of May 11. Applications will be reviewed and confirmed based on a “first in, first out” order. Companies that were first to apply will be reviewed first. Approved applications will be paid out in the same order. SZV will be contacting companies to notify them that the funds have been sent to their respective bank accounts.
Irion had said in a press release issued earlier this month that companies that might not have initially qualified for business payroll support based on the exempt list might still qualify for the Lockdown Payroll Support Plan. The deadline to apply for Lockdown Payroll Support is May 22. To verify whether a company qualifies, visit
www.ssrp.sx and go to Lockdown Payroll Support.
The Payroll Support Plan is available to qualifying companies for a maximum of three months. For each month, the company must submit an application requesting payroll support. An overview of Payroll Support Plan options, deadlines and requirements can be found at
www.ssrp.sx.
The government of St. Maarten has requested NAf. 254 million aid from the Netherlands to cover the cost of its SSRP for the first three months. The Netherlands has since approved a first tranche of NAf. 20.5 million to assist with the SSRP.
The SSRP is to cover “direct relief”, which includes a payroll support programme, income support programme, a soft loan programme and an under-employed programme for an amount of NAf. 108.44 million. For the unemployed, the established unemployment benefits will continue.
The SSRP also includes funds to compensate for the loss of government income for an amount of NAf. 89.2 million to enable government to carry out already-existing but now-expanded programmes, a food voucher programme and a food boxes programme for the most vulnerable groups, meals for the elderly and psycho-social care.
An amount of NAf. 56.28 million has been budgeted for additional healthcare expenses as well as support to SZV and St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC).
