Factbox: Major states’ coronavirus-linked fiscal stimulus plans

LONDON (Reuters) – The world’s main economies and trading blocs have announced non-monetary economic support measures to combat fallout from the coronavirus epidemic.

Following is a run-down of the main initiatives, which include tax payment waivers, credit guarantees and cheap business loans.

UNITED STATES

The Trump administration is seeking to enact a $1 trillion stimulus package to blunt the economic pain from the outbreak, possibly to include $1,000 direct payments to individual citizens, and $50 billion for airlines facing bankruptcy as international travel and tourism shut down.

EU

The European Union is rechanelling up to 37 billion euros ($40.7 billion)of funds to sectors hardest hit by the virus but not providing any new money.

It has also said member states can spend as much as they need to counter the effects of the outbreak, with those sums to be excluded from overall calculations of national deficits that must remain below 3% of gross domestic product.

That has created the leeway for a range of stimulus measures across the bloc.

GERMANY

Chancellor Angela Merkel has promised to do what is needed to counter the epidemic’s economic impact and the government has promised an initial half a trillion euros in liquidity guarantees for affected businesses.

It has lowered the bar for firms to implement shortened work weeks, for which the labour office has set aside 26 billion euros, and made it easier for companies to defer taxes. The finance ministry is considering setting up an emergency fund to help small and medium-sized companies facing insolvency.

Berlin has not put a figure on its measures, but it has federal budget reserves of 48 billion euros and could raise up to 35 billion of new debt by ditching its balanced budget goal this year. 

BRITAIN

The government announced 330 billion pounds ($396 billion) of loan guarantees and a further 20 billion pounds in tax cuts, grants and other help for businesses facing the risk of collapse due to the epidemic.

Finance minister Rishi Sunak pledged to do “whatever it takes” to help retailers, bars and airports and other firms, many of which are reeling from a near-shutdown of business.

Support measures include a temporary exemption from property taxes for 900,000 small firms, and one-off grants of 3,000 pounds to 700,000 firms.

FRANCE

Paris has set up a 45 billion euro package of measures to see companies and workers through the outbreak, some 32 billion in the form of deferred corporate taxes and payroll charges, and tax waivers for firms at risk of bankruptcy.

Another 8.2 billion has been earmarked to reimburse companies putting workers on reduced working schedules, and 2 billion for small firms in the restaurant and tourism sectors.

The government is also guaranteeing up to 300 billion euros in new bank loans to companies.

ITALY

The government of the Europen country worst hit by the epidemic has introduced a 25-billion-euro economic support package and promised more measures next month.

CHINA

The finance ministry has allocated nearly 120 billion yuan ($17 billion) for counter-epidemic efforts, tapping the budgets of government offices and departments, and front-loaded 103 billion yuan in spending from the central 2020 budget to support the poor.

It has also cut or exempted employers’ contributions to social insurance to a value of 650 billion yuan, lowered electricity prices and reduced tariffs on imported goods meant for epidemic control.

JAPAN

Tokyo is working on a stimulus package of up to $193 billion that may include cash payouts to households and subsidies to tourism companies hit by a slump in visitors, officials say.

Last week it announced 430.8 billion yen ($4.1 billion) of extra spending, much aimed at supporting affected small and medium-sized businesses.

The government will also fund upgrades to medical facilities, and subsidise working parents forced to go on leave because of closed schools.

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

The IMF is ready to mobilize its full $1 trillion lending capacity to help member countries deal with the crisis, said its head Kristalina Georgieva.

She called for a strong, coordinated fiscal stimulus and said more than a score of countries had asked about receiving aid.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; compiled by John Stonestreet; editing by Gareth Jones)