More than 650,000 companies have referred to one or more support measures during the Corona crisis. That’s 34.8 percent of all companies in the Netherlands, according to the Central Statistical Office.

Companies with ten to fifty employees most frequently applied for corona support. 65 percent of these companies did so.

The government’s support measures ran for two years, from March 2020 to last June. The most requested program was TOZO, an income support primarily used by small independent entrepreneurs such as the self-employed.

Larger companies were more likely to turn to the NOW program, a payroll subsidy for employees. This regulation cost the state the most money: almost 24 billion euros. The deferral of tax payments was also requested relatively frequently.

Some of the funds allocated will be reclaimed from the companies after they have been checked.

The use of corona support measures was relatively greatest on the Wadden Islands. More than half of all companies asked for support. In Amsterdam, Beverwijk and Maastricht, for example, many companies have also turned to the program. In Rozendaal (21 percent) and Lopik (22 percent) support was needed the least.