“Many entrepreneurs are grabbing next to support measures”

“Many entrepreneurs are grabbing next to support measures”
Many businesses are still grabbing next to government support measures, despite the government making many more businesses eligible for, say, reimbursement of fixed costs. So says entrepreneur Kevin de Krieger, who collects stories from victims on ikvalbuitendeboot.nl.

Thousands or tens of thousands of companies will not receive aid

According to De Krieger, hundreds of entrepreneurs have registered with him in recent months, but the total could be “thousands or tens of thousands of companies that do not receive support but fall within the spirit of the support measures”. These include start-ups that did not start until 2020. They cannot show sales tax for 2019, and are therefore not eligible for the TVL chargeability scheme, according to De Krieger.

Adjust SBI codes to still qualify

Other entrepreneurs have successfully modified their ‘SBI code’, which indicates in which sector the company's main activity falls. The central government maintained a list of SBI codes that made a company eligible for the so-called TOGS (Tegemoetkoming Ondernemers Geroffen Sectoren) scheme, the forerunner of the TVL. However, according to De Krieger, they cannot retroactively qualify for the coronasteun because the application deadline has expired.

No aid despite huge turnover loss

He himself runs a company that places vending machines at colleges and universities. Those vending machines sell earplugs, deodorant and phone chargers, among other things. De Krieger's sales fell by 95 per cent in the spring. He did not qualify for the TOGS scheme. That was a lump sum of 4,000 euros to pay fixed expenses in times of crisis. He did not have the right ‘SBI code’ to qualify for the aid.

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