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The Government’s Winter Economy Plan – a Summary

With the chancellor’s statement last week, we wanted to summarise some of the key announcements which are likely to effect businesses over the coming months. The economic situation clearly remains uncertain, but it’s reassuring to see that the Government are taking steps to provide some short-term relief to firms and individuals. You may also have seen that the Government has confirmed the Autumn budget will not take place this year, with a budget expected in early 2021 instead.

 

Job Support Scheme (JSS)

  • This is the follow-on from the Job Retention Scheme which ends on 31st October
  • The JSS starts on 1st November, will last for 6 months and will help cover the cost of employees who are working reduced hours
  • In summary the employer will pay employees for the hours they work (which must be at least a third of their usual hours). The remaining hours not worked are then split in to 3 – the first third is paid by the employer, the second third by the government and the last third is not paid
  • The JSS is available for all employees, not just those that were furloughed previously

 

Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS)

  • The SEISS is also being extended with two further grants available
  • The first grant will cover the period after 1st November 2020 and will be for 20% of average profits for 3 months, up to a cap of £1,875
  • Specific details of the second grant are to follow

 

Loan Schemes

  • Both the CBILS and Bounce Back loan application deadlines has been extended to 30th November 2020
  • Both the CBILS and Bounce Back loans can now be repaid over 10 years rather than the original 6 years
  • Businesses can also move to interest only payments for 6 months on the loans if needed (up to a maximum of 3 times) or pause their repayments entirely for 6 months (the latter can only be used once though)

 

VAT and self-assessment deferrals

  • Businesses that deferred a VAT payment between March and June 2020 are able to pay this back in 11 equal instalments over the 2021/22 tax year, rather than in one lump sum at the end of March 2021
  • All businesses that deferred the VAT payment are eligible, but must opt-in to benefit from this deferral
  • Individuals that deferred their self-assessment payment on account which was due in July 2020 (which would then be due by 31 January 2021) are able to use HMRC’s Time to Pay facility to pay the amount over an additional 12 months
  • The following link details the options available and provides a link to the Time to Pay online facility and the HMRC phone line for those unable to use the online facility

 

Reduced VAT for hospitality and tourism sectors

  • The reduced VAT rate of 5% has been extended until 31 March 2021 for those in the hospitality and tourism sectors

 

If you have any queries on the above summary, please do get in touch with us on 01926 851516 or davidrogers@bernard-rogers.co.uk.

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