Budget 2021 – How it Affects Business Owners in Ireland

The Irish Budget 2021 was the biggest yet and designed to get Irish business through Brexit and COVID-19. The Minister of Finance, Paschal Donohoe said “Budget 2021 has been prepared against a background of extraordinary uncertainty regarding near-term economic and budgetary prospects. Here are the key points:

• A new scheme for businesses which closed because of Covid-19 will provide a maximum of €5,000 per week - payments based on 2019 average weekly turnover. Effective from today until the end of March next year, with the first payments in mid-November 

• Debt warehousing provisions for SMEs will be extended for a period of a year with no interest. A €30 million fund will be administered through the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund 

• VAT rate reduction from 13.5% to 9% for hospitality sector 

• Extension of the commercial rates holiday 

• New Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) 

• Extension of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme through 2021 

• €3.4bn Recovery Fund  

• €10.1bn infrastructure spending in 2021 

• Increasing Earned Income Credit up to €1,650 for self-employed – the same as the employee tax credit for PAYE workers 

If your business requires finance to help with your business budget for the year ahead, we’re here to help. Call 01 55 636 55 now.

BusinessLoans.ie for Fast Loans in Ireland

If you are a business owner in Ireland you may have had the experience of waiting longer than expected to hear news on your bank loan application. This form of purgatory is often called the “slow no”. You’re not hearing no; your hopes are still alive that you will get approval; perhaps the bank has requested a couple of extra pieces of information that you’ve quickly responded with, giving you a glimmer of hope. The “slow no” is a torturous experience that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. This is especially true when you’re trying to plan for a project that needs finance in these tough trading times.

The good news is we often speak with business owners in this very pickle. If they want fast finance quotes there are a host of alternative lenders whose processes, using the latest Fintech systems, are often swifter than the banks. They have tailored solutions for various business challenges. The team at BusinessLoans.ie has a great relationship with the credit teams and know how to present the information to get your quote approved quickly & efficiently. So if you need a quick quote give us a call 7 days on 01 55 636 55 or web chat via the box on the bottom right of this page.

BusinessLoans.ie MD Rupert Hogan Interviewed by deBanked Magazine

In a recent interview with reporter Brendan Garrett of deBanked Magazine, New York, entitled “Ireland’s Alternative Finance Industry and the Coronavirus” BusinessLoans.ie MD Rupert Hogan gave his insights on business finance in the current climate alongside Jamie Heaslip of Flender Finance, Chris Burge of Spark Crowdfunding and Garrett Cassidy of Trezeo.

Rupert Hogan “explained that some businesses would be better going with LEO over banks and even some non-banks. Noting that non-bank lenders can’t compete with the rates offered by LEO and, just like in the US, banks can’t act with the speed that these business owners need. And described the current situation as The Great Lockdown and banks aren’t too helpful, even in the good times, due to the high rejection rates that SMEs experience when looking for loans. In regards to merchant cash advances, he’s expecting, when the MCA companies reopen, that they’ll be funding at reduced rates, some doing as much as 50% less than their pre-coronavirus amounts.”

The article concludes, “altogether, Ireland’s alternative finance industry, like others the world over, has been hit hard by the coronavirus’s economic effects. With the country’s phased lifting of the lockdown being plotted out over the course of the summer, the island nation may not see as quick a return to commerce as certain American states, but its fintechs and non-banks hope to stick around, by hook or by crook, as the Irish say, by any means possible.” We at www.BusinessLoans.ie agree.

Rupert Hogan MD BusinessLoans.ie & Sean Murray Editor deBanked when they met in Dublin October 2019.