Small businesses ask BIR to extend wage subsidy deadline

Small business operators are urging the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to extend the application deadline for the Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) program, which expired on April 30.

The SBWS program was intended to provide financial assistance to workers facing severe economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department of Finance (DOF) is expected this week to announce its decision on the possible extension to accommodate hundreds of thousands of late filers.

Revenue officials have processed and approved applications for over one million workers from roughly 75,000 business operators.

Workers who were not paid in March and April due to quarantine closures are qualified to avail themselves of the cash assistance, which ranges from P10,000 to P16,000 for the two-month period.

The Social Security System will disburse the funds to individual workers after the BIR issues tax clearances, with the first installment expected on May 15 and the remainder at the end of the month.

Workers who work from home, are part of a skeletal force, are on leave for the entire duration of the lockdown, or have unsettled accounts with the Social Security System are not eligible.