Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to protect small business jobs.
Any PAYE-qualifying small business employee will qualify for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which will cover 80 per cent of a regular salary up to £2,500 a month, just above the median income.
>See also: How to get the government’s £10,000 cash grant for small businesses
Small business owners must apply to HMRC and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be backdated to March 1 to cover a three-month period.
Sunak said there was no limit on how much this job-retention scheme might cost, which will be financed through the national debt.
The government expects the first job-retention grants to be payed before the end of April.
Sunak also announced that small businesses would be able to defer next quarter’s VAT, a direct injection of £30bn of cash-flow support for SMEs.
>See also: How do I apply for a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan?
Sunak called his latest package “unprecedented in the history of the British state … you will not face this alone”.
This package of measures “will protect jobs and strengthens the safety net”, the chancellor reiterated.
Sunak said: “The government is doing its best to stand