In the US the first batch of the stimulus package payment was seen on Saturday, April 12, claimed the IRS. The first batch of payments was supposed to begin with those who have already filed the tax returns for 2019 or 2018. The IRS has also issued a new tool for the people to track their payments.
The one-time payment by the US Treasury is being seen as a plan to ease any economic downturn that could affect the people during the coronavirus lockdown. The payments were included in the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act which was written into the law on March 27. People who meet the financial requirements are eligible for the payments. Parents with children under the age of 17 are said to be coming under the several criteria set by the government.
Depending upon the specifics of the criteria the payment can be as high as $4,700. Those who qualify for the payments receive a minimum of $1,200 if they earn less than $75,000 per year. But people have been reacting to the payments by comparing the package to the ones provided by several other countries across the world. New unemployment shows that around 6.6 million claims have been registered as of April 4 with a million in California alone.
Benefits from the rest of the world
In a tweet that has been trending, there has been a comparison between some of the countries and the US. According to reports before the coronavirus pandemic, the unemployment benefits in the US was $378 a week. The new package adds to the previous unemployment benefit which differs from state to state.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Canada has issued a multi-billion dollar package for the relief package in the response to the slowdown in the country. The Canadian government is spending $75 billion US dollars in response to the emergency aid and economic stimulus to assist Canadians struggling financially. The measures are said to boost child benefits, support small businesses and tax relief measures to help cope with the economic slowdown due to the pandemic situation.
Similarly, Australia has issued a package which lets the unemployed receive around US$ 996, that is, around $1,500 AUD every two weeks. In the UK the government has issued grants in which they cover 80 percent of the unemployed workers' salary. This could be up to a total of £2,500 ($3,084) a month. In the UK the government is said to be covering the people who have been told to self-isolate with a statutory pay.
In Canada, the eligible people will be paid $2,000 CAD every month for the next four months. In Denmark, the government is covering around 75 to 90 percent of the salaries of the people and might get paid 26,000 Danish kroner ($3,288 USD) a month.
Even France, Germany and Ireland has pledged to look into the salaries and cover the maximum percent possible to help the people cope with the lockdown. Several Asian countries have also pledged stimulus packages to help the citizens.
