As a taxi entrepreneur/professional driver, I incur various expenses for my tool – the car. Is it possible to include such costs as part of the criteria for determining cost support?
The determination of the cost support is affected by costs of the support period declared by the company. According to the Act on Cost support, costs during the support period refer to inflexible business costs and losses (see above) for the support period (June 1 to October 31, 2020) that are reasonably demonstrated by the company and are final and for which no cost support has previously been granted.
Vehicle-related costs can also be supported by cost support. For example, leasing payments or car loan interest costs can be taken into account when determining cost support. Loan repayments or installments cannot be supported by cost support, as cost support cannot be granted for investment costs.
Statutory vehicle insurance premiums and vechile taxes may also be accepted. In addition, voluntary car insurance is acceptable if it has been necessary for the company to take out insurance, for example on the basis of a leasing contract. Cost support cannot support non-essential costs that are non-flexible in relation to business volume. Insurance costs related to the company’s property, such as insurance for office or warehouse space, can also be considered.
The assessment that is based on inflexibility also makes it possible to support vehicle-related maintenance costs where maintenance has been necessary for the conduct of the company’s business and it has not been reasonably possible to defer maintenance to a later date. An expense for a support period based on a maintenance contract can also be considered as an inflexible expense. Inspection costs for the support period are also eligible.
Taxi drivers can also incur inflexible costs from taxi brokerage companies. In principle, fuel costs cannot be taken into account in cost support, as material costs are not in principle supported by cost support. As a result, it is also not possible to consider the purchase of new tires, for example, as a necessary expense for the support period within the meaning of the law. However, it is possible to accept a portion of fuel costs that is not flexible: “You have to move from taxi stand to taxi stand, whether there are customers or not”.