Chancellor’s Summer Statement
On the 8th of July 2020, delivering his Summer Economic Update in Parliament, the Chancellor announced a package of measures aimed at supporting jobs in every part of the country, giving businesses the confidence to retain and hire, and providing people with the tools they need to get better jobs.
We have included a round up below of the key highlights we believe are relevant to our clients, and will update information as further announcements and details are made available by the government.
Self-employment Scheme Cut-off Date
Businesses eligible for the first Self-employment Income Support (SEISS) grant must make their claim by Monday 13 July.
When applications for SEISS grants opened in mid-May HMRC did not specify any deadline for claims – the deadline of 13 July 2020 was announced when the scheme was extended, and is now fast approaching, all claims for the first grant must be made by this date.
Businesses must have been adversely affected by coronavirus when they claim the grant. This means that, to claim the first grant, the business must have adversely affected on or before 13 July 2020 and to claim the second grant they must have been adversely affected after that date.
For further details click here.
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Cut-off Date
Any furlough claims for the period ending 30th June 2020 must be submitted by 31 July 2020 at the latest, after this point you will not be eligible to claim.
Job Retention Bonus
As part of the plan to support jobs, a Job Retention Bonus will be introduced to help firms keep furloughed workers. UK Employers will receive a one-off bonus of £1,000 for each furloughed employee who is still employed as of 31 January 2021.
They must continuously work for you between November 2020 and January 2021 (employees need to be earning an average of at least £520 in each month) and your company will then receive a one-off bonus of £1,000 for each employee in February 2021.
Kickstart Scheme
A new £2 billion Kickstart Scheme will also be launched to create hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people across the country.
Those aged 16-24, claiming Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment, will be eligible.
Funding available for each six-month job placement will cover 100% of the National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week – and employers will be able to top this wage up.
Employment Support Schemes
Businesses will be given £2,000 for each new apprentice they hire under the age of 25 and £1,500 for those over 25. This is in addition to the existing £1,000 payment the Government already provides for new 16-18-year-old apprentices and those aged under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan.
Hospitality Sector VAT cuts and Eat-out incentives
The tourism and hospitality sectors are massive employers in the UK and have been severely impacted by the pandemic due to necessary closures to protect public health. 80% of hospitality firms stopped trading in April and 1.4 million hospitality workers have been furloughed – the highest proportions of any sector.
To encourage people to safely return to eating out at restaurants the Government’s new Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme will provide a 50% reduction for sit-down meals in cafes, restaurants and pubs across the UK from Monday to Wednesday every week throughout August 2020 (up to £10 per person).
The rate of VAT applied on most tourism and hospitality-related activities will also be cut from 20% to 5% from 15th July 2020, until mid-January 2021. This includes, food, accommodation and attractions – but not alcohol. The temporary cut should see prices fall when eating out or going out, which should help those whose income has been affected by the virus.
For further details use the links below:
Guidance on the temporary reduced rate of VAT for hospitality, holiday accommodation and attractions
VAT: reduced rate for hospitality, holiday accommodation and attractions
Stamp Duty Holidays
The government want people to feel confident to move, to buy, to sell, to renovate, and to improve their homes. So are introducing a temporary increase to the Nil Rate Band of Residential SDLT (Stamp Duty) from £125,000 to £500,000 with immediate effect until 31 March 2021.
Those buying homes for more than £500,000, or second homes, will still have to pay stamp duty, but their total bill will be lower as a result of these changes.
Ask Treetops for Advice
If you have any questions regarding the above, VAT, bookkeeping, tax returns or anything else then please contact us. Treetops is a Chartered Accounting firm based in Farnborough.
We help small businesses and limited companies across Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey. Simply complete our website contact form and we’ll call you back to offer advice.
