Chancellor Rushi Sunak announced his Budget in the House of Commons on 3rd March 2021. Setting out his plans to support the economy throughout the pandemic and into recovery. These are the announcements for his plans to support business & self employed:
- An extension of the Coronavirus Job Support Scheme (CJRS) to September 2021 across the UK. Furloughed employees will continue to receive 80% of their usual wages for the time they are on furlough. From July, Employers will contribute 10% and from August, this will increase to 20%. When claiming for periods 1 May 2021 onwards, eligible employees must have been employed on 2 March 2021 and had a Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC notifying a payment of earnings for that employee by their employer between 20 March 2020 and 2 March 2021.
- An extension of the UK-wide Self Employment Income Support scheme (SEISS) to September 2021. There will be a fourth and fifth grant covering February to April and May to September accordingly. The fifth grant will be determined by reference to the percentage fall in turnover. Applications are expected to open in April for grant 4 and July for grant 5. Those who have filed their 2019/20 tax return by midnight on 2nd March 2021 will now be eligible, assuming they also meet the other criteria. The value of the grant is based on an average of trading profits for up to 4 tax years between 2016 to 2020, where available. More detail here: http://www.sapphirebusinessservices.co.uk/wp/2021/03/04/self-employment-income-support-scheme-seiss-grants-4-and-5-confirmed/
- An extension to the temporary cut in Stamp Duty Land Tax in England and Northern Ireland. The starting rate of stamp duty will remain at £500,000 until 30th June 2021 and then £250,000 until 30th September 2021. The usual starting rate is £125,000
- A new mortgage guarantee scheme will enable all UK homebuyers secure a mortgage up to £600,000 with a 5% deposit.
- Restart Grants – a one off cash grant of up to £18,000 for hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym businesses in England.
- A new UK-wide Recovery Loan Scheme to make available loans between £25,001 and £10 million, and asset and invoice finance between £1,000 and £10 million, to help businesses of all sizes through the next stage of recovery.
- Extension of the Film & TV Production Restart scheme in the UK, with an additional £300 million to support theatres, museums and other cultural organisations in England through the Culture Recovery Fund.
- Six-month extension of the £20 per week Universal Credit uplift in Great Britain, with the Northern Ireland Executive receiving additional funding to match the increase. A one-off payment of £500 to eligible Working Tax Credit claimants across the UK.
- Extension to the VAT cut to 5% for hospitality, accommodation and attractions across the UK until the end of September, followed by a 12.5% rate for a further six months until 31 March 2022.
- Business rates relief will be extended until the end of June, followed by rates being discounted to one third until the end of December 2021 for eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in England
- Extension of the apprenticeship hiring incentive in England to September 2021 and an increase of payment to £3,000.
- Small and medium-sized employers in the UK will continue to be able to reclaim up to two weeks of eligible Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) costs per employee from the Government.
- The government is extending the loss carry back rules as detailed here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/extended-loss-carry-back-for-businesses/extended-loss-carry-back-for-businesses
- A new Taxpayer Protection Taskforce to crack-down on COVID fraudsters who have exploited UK Government support schemes.
You can find our Covid-19 Toolkit for small businesses here http://www.sapphirebusinessservices.co.uk/wp/covid-19/