The Legal Impacts of COVID-19 in the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industry

respect of the specific employee of a micro-enterprise), but not exceeding EUR 700 per calendar month. • an employee receiving a downtime benefit is granted a supplement of EUR 50 for each dependent child under the age of 24, for whom the employee is entitled to personal income tax relief on the date of granting the downtime benefit. The supplement is granted and paid by the State Social Insurance Agency for the period for which downtime benefit has been granted ” 3 . However, there are definite points in Regulation No. 165 for which most companies and employees cannot qualify for downtime allowance. Among them are: a tax debt of the employer of more than 1,000 €; the case, when the employer has not submitted all tax returns and annuals reports for the last 12 months prior to the state of emergency; if the employer affected by the crisis has current insolvency proceeding; if the employer has calculated taxes in the amount of less than 200 € per months in the previous six months prior to the declaration of the state of emergency. At an extraordinary meeting on 14 May, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to further expand the circle of potential recipients of downtime benefits. The conditions for granting the downtime allowance also clarify the definition of exports, thus allowing a wider range of applicants to qualify for this support. The Regulations clarify the use of the term “export”, using the definition of export provided in the Value Added Tax Law, will be applied to the export of goods as well as services. The amendments also stipulate that an employer affected by the crisis caused by COVID-19 will be able to submit an application for receiving a downtime benefit to the State Revenue Service also in cases in which one of the conditions for not granting a downtime benefit applies to the employer. Thus, the employee will be able to qualify for the downtime assistance benefit, i.e. the downtime allowance is paid to those who do not qualify for the downtime allowance due to the employer's non-compliance. Its maximum amount is 180 € per month. 5. Conclusions The State aid, as per the new Regulation No. 165, was supposed to help local entrepreneurs, however, in reality, the situation is far more than idyllic. The State Revenue Office refuses to grant downtime allowance to a variety of tourism enterprises, for the most part, small and 3 The Republic of Latvia, Cabinet of Ministers, Regulation No. 165 14.05.2020 amendments.