Chancellor’s statement: Self-Employed Support Scheme

The chancellor has just made the following statement: The government will pay self-employed people, who have been adversely affected by the coronavirus, a taxable grant worth 80% of their average monthly profits over the last 3 years, up to £2,500 per month. Open for at least 3 months across the UK, I will extend if necessary. You’ll be able to claim these grants and continue to do business. We’re covering the same amount of income as we are for furloughed employees, who also get a grant worth 80%. That’s unlike almost any other country, making our scheme one of the most generous in the world. I’ve taken steps to make the scheme deliverable, and fair. It’s only open to those with trading profits up to £50,000, who make a majority of their income from self-employment. To minimise fraud only those already in self-employment, who have a tax return for 2019 can apply. 95% of people who are majority self-employed will benefit from this scheme. HMRC are working urgently, we expect people to access it no later than the beginning of June. If eligible, HMRC will contact you with an online form, they pay the grant straight to your bank account. To make sure no one who needs it misses out on support, we have decided to allow anyone who missed the filing deadline in January, four weeks from today to submit their tax return. I know self-employed people are struggling right now, we’ve made sure: – You can access the business interruption loans. – Income tax payments due in July can be deferred to the end of Jan 2021. – We’ve changed the welfare system so you can access Universal Credit in full. No doubt the devil will be in the detail, we’ll feed back more as we know...

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Covid-19 – Wakefield Council Cash Grant Info

I have had a very constructive conversation with the Wakefield Council business engagement team: They have released the below regarding claiming the business grant. They have also said that if you are unsure whether or not you qualify, please email info@wakefieldfirst.com So if you rent commercial premises but think the landlord gets the rates bill this would a good example, it’s better that they have your details than not. They may be able to support you when they get clarity from the government. “Applying for a Covid-19 cash grant Wakefield Council are working hard to introduce an online application process for the Covid-19 business grants. If you believe you meet the below eligibility criteria to apply for one of the business grants, then please email us on info@wakefieldfirst.com with the name of your business, your name and your email address and we will send out the relevant e-form as soon as it’s available. Eligibility Criteria: Businesses that pay little or no business rates are eligible for a one-off grant of £10,000 if: your business is based in England you are a small business and already receive SBBR and/or RRR you are a business that occupies property Businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are eligible for a grant of up £25,000 per property.  For businesses in these sectors with a rateable value of under £15,000, they will receive a grant of £10,000. Businesses in these sectors with a rateable value of between £15,000 and £51,000, will receive a grant of £25,000. You are eligible for this grant if: your business is based in England your business is in the retail, hospitality and/or leisure sector Properties that will benefit from the relief will be occupied hereditaments that are wholly or mainly being used: as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues for assembly and leisure as hotels, guest and boarding premises and self-catering accommodation”...

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COVID-19 Government Support Measures

Covid-19 Courtley West Update The government have released a new page with further detail for the support being made available to business. This includes details of: Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme Business Rates Holiday for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Cash Grant for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (The portal is not open yet.) Small Business Grant Funding Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Time to Pay Covid-19 Corporate Financing Facility Business Rates Holiday for Nurseries VAT Deferral Income Tax Deferral for the Self-Employed You can read more here: https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support/ In addition, if you can’t file your company accounts on time due to the Coronavirus, you may be granted an extension. More details and how to apply can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-if-your-company-cannot-file-accounts-with-companies-house-on-time  ...

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COVID-19 Courtley West Bulletin

COVID-19 We’re in this together and we’re here to support you through this crisis. We’d like to reassure you that we have taken steps to ensure we can operate through this difficult time. Our IT infrastructure is setup so we can work from anywhere with an internet connection, you can still call us and email us. We are geared up for video conferencing which we can host, to ensure our relationship with you is barely affected. The only change at our end that you will see is that we’re not offering ‘in person’ meetings at this time and that if you would like to drop records off at the office please ensure this is agreed in advance. There is no clear timescale for when this disruption will end, so we all need to adapt and work through this together. The government has released a series of unprecedented measures to support business. You can read more about these here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses This includes a package of measures to support businesses including: a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme deferring VAT and Income Tax payments a Statutory Sick Pay relief package for SMEs a 12-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality, leisure and nursery businesses in England small business grant funding of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief grant funding of £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000 the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank a new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms, helping them bridge coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans the HMRC Time To Pay Scheme If you are an employee, you can read more here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-guidance-for-employees This is a difficult time for everyone, we are here with you and you can trust us to do our very best to support you through these unprecedented circumstances.  ...

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Spring Statement 2019

What you need to know:   Making Tax Digital   Philip Hammond reinforced that the mandatory digital record keeping for businesses with annual revenues above the VAT threshold (£85,000) will come into force from 1st April 2019. He called this an “important first step in this modernisation of the tax system to which the Government remains committed”. The Chancellor has also confirmed that the Government will adopt a “light touch approach” to all penalties relating to MTD for VAT in the first year of implementation. This approach is reserved for individuals and small businesses that are “doing their best to comply”, with no filing or record-keeping penalties due to be issued within the first 12 months. Mr Hammond said that the focus for MTD for VAT will be on “supporting businesses to transition”. Apprenticeships   updates to apprenticeship reforms announced at Budget that mean from April 1st employers will see the co-investment rate they pay cut by a half from 10% to 5%, at the same time as levy-paying employers are able to share more levy funds across their supply chains, with the maximum amount rising from 10% to 25%   Finance   The statement alongside the Spring Statement said: “The government stands ready to deliver its commitment in all circumstances to provide additional funding to the British Business Bank for venture and growth capital, as we leave the European Union and our relationship with the European Investment Fund...

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