Businesses whose headquarters are based in recognised tax havens will not be eligible for Covid-19 financial support from the Welsh Government.
Finance Minister Rebecca Evans and Minister for Economy and Transpor Ken Skates have confirmed that businesses owned by a company or individual living in a 100% tax haven will not be eligible for financial support from the Welsh Government’s £500m Economic Resilience Fund.
This change will exclude a small number of large organisations from accessing backing from the fund, that is offering grant support ranging from £10,000 for micro-businesses up to more than £100,000 for larger firms.
It doesn't applied to firms registered in Jersey, although it does the Isle of Man.
Other tax havens covered by the decision are the Turks and Caicos Islands, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and the Bahamas.
Ms Evans said:“Despite our stretched and limited resources, we have put in place the most generous business support package in the whole of the UK. It is only right that businesses which are not contributing tax payments to our economy should not benefit from this scheme.”
Mr Skates said: “We are facing the biggest crisis of our lifetime and being able to address the economic and health implications of this crisis comes at a considerable financial cost. In line with our something for something approach, I firmly believe that businesses who don’t pay tax should not benefit from the interventions we are making to try and protect our economy.
“This decision is one of the important steps the Welsh Government is taking to build a better economy and better society for Wales.”
