New criticism is now being levelled at the interpretation of the rules for coronavirus support. The amusement park Gröna Lund is missing out on 2.6 million kronor in state financial support.
The reason is that the company had revenues of 22,000 kronor over two months.
The CEO, Christer Fogelmarck, is very critical of the decision.
– The Swedish Tax Agency interprets that these SEK 22,000 show that we could have had the business open, and therefore we are disqualified. But we argue that we have not had any normal operations, and we could not have, due to restrictions, and therefore we should receive enhanced adaptation support, says Christer Fogelmarck, CEO of Park & Resorts, to Ekot.
During the two the current months, June and July last year, Gröna Lund had income from, among other things, the sale of drinks to a production company at cost price, but otherwise the amusement park was completely closed, he says.
The year before the pandemic, 2019, Gröna Lund had revenues of 279 million SEK during the corresponding period.
The reinforced transition support is additional government financial aid for the hardest-hit companies.
According to the Swedish Tax Agency's decision, the company will not receive full support. Gröna Lund will receive just over half of the almost six million kronor it had applied for, meaning the company will miss out on around 2.6 million kronor.
– In this case, the company has had some income during the support period, and that is why they cannot receive cover for 100 percent of their fixed costs, says Eva Bodén from the authority to Ekot.
She says it doesn't matter that the revenue was so small – SEK 22,000 compared to SEK 279 million the previous year.
– The size of the income does not affect this assessment, she tells Ekot.
Chairman Christer Fogelmarck is disappointed.
These 2.6 million are incredibly important to us.
Isn't it reasonable to have quite strict requirements so that not just any company can receive support?
– Yes, undoubtedly, that is good. But I mean that here we need to review the interpretation that has been made in relation to our operations. We can meet the stringent requirements.
Could you have done anything differently?
"The challenge with this kind of support is that it's retroactive. If we had known that they would be so rigid about income, we wouldn't have offered drinks to a production company that was on site filming a concert," Fogelmarck told Ekot.
Gröna Lund has now appealed the decision to the administrative court.
Source: sverigesradio.se
