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ATP 4 will have less contributions to pay salaries and more subsidized credits

2020-07-24T21:22:11.674Z


Unlike in the previous edition, this time there will be no aid differentiated by geographical area, but there will be loans at a zero rate for those who invoice the least.


Annabella Quiroga

07/24/2020 - 18:05

  • Clarín.com
  • Economy
  • Economy

The Government made the fourth edition of the Work and Production Assistance (ATP) program official for the payment of July wages. This time there will be  more cuts in aid for the payment of wages and instead more resources allocated to loans for companies that do not qualify for this type of assistance.

Announcements about ATP 4 were made this afternoon from Quinta de Olivos. After the presentation by President Alberto Fernández, the Ministry of Productive Development gave details of the measures that will be included in this new phase of the program with which the State pays part of the wages of companies hit by the quarantine .

In ATP 3, up to two minimum wages per worker - an amount equivalent to $ 33,750 - were paid to companies in areas with restricted quarantine, such as AMBA and Chaco, among others. For the rest of the country, aid was capped at a minimum wage - $ 16,875 - per employee.

This time, this geographical difference is left aside and the contribution is unified into a maximum cap of 1.5 minimum wage - $ 25,312 . Since the majority of the companies hit are in the AMBA, more companies will be affected by the reduction in aid than will benefit.

In addition, the Government this time set a more restrictive requirement than in the previous phase. For the payment of June salaries one of the conditions was that last May the invoicing of the applicant company would not have exceeded the May 2019 level by more than 5%. This time it is established that only companies whose Billing for June 2020 is not greater than the same month of 2019.

However, the so-called “critical” sectors that continue with their activities totally affected by the pandemic, such as tourism, entertainment, culture, health and sports, will receive aid equivalent to up to two minimum wages. And in this case the subsidy will remain until December.

In addition, there will be soft loans for companies that bill more this year than last. Those in which the nominal invoicing is null or has increased up to 30% will not qualify for the state contribution to the complementary salary but they will be able to request a subsidized credit with three months of grace to repay in 12 fixed installments . It should be used exclusively for the payment of wages.

The loan amount will be calculated based on the wage bill at a rate of 1.2 minimum wages for each registered worker. As for the rate, it will go from 0 to 15%.

For companies that have invoiced between 0% and 10% more than in June 2019, the rate will be 0%; if the invoicing increased between 11% and 20%, it will be 7.5%; while for those with an increase from 21% to 30%, the interest will be 15%.

As in the previous edition of the ATP, companies that access these loans or receive complementary wages will not be able to distribute profits , or buy back their shares, or buy dollars by  resorting to cash.

Another novelty of ATP4 is that in this phase there will be loans at a 0% rate for monotributistas and self-employed workers of activities related to culture . In this case, the grace period will be extended to 12 months.

"A distinctive fact regarding the ATP that was implemented in June is that there will be no differentiation between the zones in distance from the isolation zones, " said the head of AFIP, Mercedes Marcó del Pont, during the act carried out in the Olivos residence. "The parameter to be used will be that of invoicing , and not that of the geographical or regional location of the companies," he added.

In the first two batches of the ATP, payments of almost $ 93 billion were approved, benefiting 310,000 companies - with at least one ATP - and 2.8 million workers. In the third round, 218,000 companies with more than $ 32,000 million additional pesos were beneficiaries.

Source: clarin

All business articles on 2020-07-24

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