Originally written by John Webber on Small Business
We seem to have been waiting to hear the review on business rates for some time. In March 2020, the government announced a new consultation and said that the first part of the business rates review would be published in the tail end of 2020, with the second part in early 2021. Since then the chancellor has announced no less than four delays to publishing its response and we are now waiting until autumn 2021 to learn the government’s full response to the consultation on reform.
>See also: Do I need to pay business rates working from home?
This delay is disappointing, especially since the Treasury Select Committee produced a very credible report with sensible recommendations in autumn 2019, which now seems to have been largely ignored – not to mention all the consultations and reviews we’ve had in previous years. Colliers has long been an advocate of reform and we fear such procrastination will have only meant more job losses across the economy as we wait for a proper redress of the system.
Business rates review 2021 – what to expect
There is no doubt the business rates system needs a radical overhaul. The system that
Tag Archive for Rishi Sunak
Hot Business News Today
Sunak ignores small business pleas for more help to get through lockdown
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has ignored small business pleas for more taxpayer support to help get them through extended lockdown until July 19.
Small business owners, and especially nightclub operators, face going out of business because of the government pushing back the lifting of lockdown restrictions until end-July. The fear is that government scientists will again point to Covid-19 infection numbers again going in the wrong direction, and Britain remains at the current level of restrictions until spring 2022.
The Treasury has pointed to local authorities still having £1bn at their disposal to help small businesses cover such things as business rates on a case-by-case basis. Other than that, its arms are folded.
From the start of next month, small businesses will have to start contributing to the salaries of furloughed workers. Currently, the government covers 80 per cent of wages of workers in the furlough scheme. Next month that becomes 70 per cent, with employers having to cover an extra 10 per cent
Hospitality, leisure and retail operators will also have to start paying one third of their business rates bill from the start of July, ending more than a year of the bills being waived.
Small businesses
Hot Business News Today
Sunak ignores small business pleas for more help to get through lockdown
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has ignored small business pleas for more taxpayer support to help get them through extended lockdown until July 19.
Small business owners, and especially nightclub operators, face going out of business because of the government pushing back the lifting of lockdown restrictions until end-July. The fear is that government scientists will again point to Covid-19 infection numbers again going in the wrong direction, and Britain remains at the current level of restrictions until spring 2022.
The Treasury has pointed to local authorities still having £1bn at their disposal to help small businesses cover such things as business rates on a case-by-case basis. Other than that, its arms are folded.
From the start of next month, small businesses will have to start contributing to the salaries of furloughed workers. Currently, the government covers 80 per cent of wages of workers in the furlough scheme. Next month that becomes 70 per cent, with employers having to cover an extra 10 per cent
Hospitality, leisure and retail operators will also have to start paying one third of their business rates bill from the start of July, ending more than a year of the bills being waived.
Small businesses
Hot Business News Today
Restart Grant for your small business – what is it and where to claim
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Rishi Sunak has announced a £5bn Restart Grant scheme to help any small business most badly affected by Covid-19, according to reports.
A Restart Grant worth up to £18,000 for the largest businesses will help shops, pubs, hotels and any other small business through to June 21, when it’s hoped the final coronavirus restrictions will be lifted.
Mr Sunak is also expected to announce on Wednesday that other small business support schemes such as furlough will be extended until the end of June.
Where to find your Restart Grant
The Restart Grant scheme, administered by local councils, will help almost 700,000 small business owners including those running shops, pubs, clubs, hotels restaurants, gyms and hair salons.
Non-essential retail businesses will get up to £6,000 per premises through the Restart Grant scheme to help them reopen. Shops will reopen no earlier than April 12, according to the Government’s Covid-19 roadmap.
More Restart Grant money will be available for any small business in hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gyms, which will reopen later and will be more affected by restrictions. They can receive up to £18,000, depending on their rateable value.
Meanwhile, local authorities in England will also get an extra
Hot Business News Today
Restart Grant for your small business – what is it and where to claim
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Rishi Sunak has announced a £5bn Restart Grant scheme to help any small business most badly affected by Covid-19, according to reports.
A Restart Grant worth up to £18,000 for the largest businesses will help shops, pubs, hotels and any other small business through to June 21, when it’s hoped the final coronavirus restrictions will be lifted.
Mr Sunak is also expected to announce on Wednesday that other small business support schemes such as furlough will be extended until the end of June.
Where to find your Restart Grant
The Restart Grant scheme, administered by local councils, will help almost 700,000 small business owners including those running shops, pubs, clubs, hotels restaurants, gyms and hair salons.
Non-essential retail businesses will get up to £6,000 per premises through the Restart Grant scheme to help them reopen. Shops will reopen no earlier than April 12, according to the Government’s Covid-19 roadmap.
More Restart Grant money will be available for any small business in hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gyms, which will reopen later and will be more affected by restrictions. They can receive up to £18,000, depending on their rateable value.
Meanwhile, local authorities in England will also get an extra
Hot Business News Today
Rishi Sunak eyes hiking corporation tax even higher to 25%
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Rishi Sunak is eyeing increasing corporation tax from 19% to 25% in the Budget next Wednesday, March 3.
Previously, it was thought the Chancellor was only considering going as high as 24 per cent.
The chancellor needs to raise money to help start paying off the staggering £394bn deficit the UK economy is facing because of Covid-19, not least the £71bn the Government has spent supporting businesses.
>See also: Self-employed to be offered fourth and final £7,500 grant in Budget
Each percentage point hiked on corporation tax rates raises another £3.3bn in revenue. This implies that the chancellor could raise nearly £20bn if he increases corporation tax to 25%.
Mr Sunak is also getting political cover to do this because his US counterpart, Janet Yellen, said recently that US corporation tax might rise from 21 per cent to 28 per cent. This would mean that the UK could still claim to have the lowest level of corporation tax in the G7 group of developed nations. According to the Times, the first increase is likely to be in the autumn budget, with subsequent rises.
Also, corporation tax revenue overwhelmingly comes from a number of enterprise-level companies and corporates, as opposed
Hot Business News Today
Self-employed to be offered fourth and final £7,500 grant in Budget
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Rishi Sunak is set to announce a fourth and final round of the £7,500 grant for the self-employed in next week’s Budget.
As before, certain self-employed will be able to claim a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEIISS) grant worth up to £7,500 over three months covering February, March and April.
However, if true, next week’s announcement again ignores the over a million people who have been excluded from self-employed grants because either they have a parallel source of income or they pay themselves in dividends or they earn over £50,000 a year.
Last month, influential thinktank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the Government should act to help self-employed excluded from Covid support because more than 50 pe cent of their income came from elsewhere, an exclusion which disproportionately attacked women on modest incomes.
>See also: Government must help self-employed excluded due to 50% income rule
Meanwhile, business groups have written to Mr Sunak urging him to help the nearly 800,000 company directors frozen out of emergency Covid-19 support, which they saw as a stealth attack by HMRC because company directors pay corporation tax at the lower 19 per cent rate.
However, according to the Telegraph, the grant
Hot Business News Today
Rishi Sunak eyes hiking corporation tax even higher to 25%
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Rishi Sunak is eyeing increasing corporation tax from 19% to 25% in the Budget next Wednesday, March 3.
Previously, it was thought the Chancellor was only considering going as high as 24 per cent.
The chancellor needs to raise money to help start paying off the staggering £394bn deficit the UK economy is facing because of Covid-19, not least the £71bn the Government has spent supporting businesses.
>See also: Self-employed to be offered fourth and final £7,500 grant in Budget
Each percentage point hiked on corporation tax rates raises another £3.3bn in revenue. This implies that the chancellor could raise nearly £20bn if he increases corporation tax to 25%.
Mr Sunak is also getting political cover to do this because his US counterpart, Janet Yellen, said recently that US corporation tax might rise from 21 per cent to 28 per cent. This would mean that the UK could still claim to have the lowest level of corporation tax in the G7 group of developed nations. According to the Times, the first increase is likely to be in the autumn budget, with subsequent rises.
Also, corporation tax revenue overwhelmingly comes from a number of enterprise-level companies and corporates, as opposed
Hot Business News Today
Self-employed to be offered fourth and final £7,500 grant in Budget
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Rishi Sunak is set to announce a fourth and final round of the £7,500 grant for the self-employed in next week’s Budget.
As before, certain self-employed will be able to claim a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEIISS) grant worth up to £7,500 over three months covering February, March and April.
However, if true, next week’s announcement again ignores the over a million people who have been excluded from self-employed grants because either they have a parallel source of income or they pay themselves in dividends or they earn over £50,000 a year.
Last month, influential thinktank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the Government should act to help self-employed excluded from Covid support because more than 50 pe cent of their income came from elsewhere, an exclusion which disproportionately attacked women on modest incomes.
>See also: Government must help self-employed excluded due to 50% income rule
Meanwhile, business groups have written to Mr Sunak urging him to help the nearly 800,000 company directors frozen out of emergency Covid-19 support, which they saw as a stealth attack by HMRC because company directors pay corporation tax at the lower 19 per cent rate.
However, according to the Telegraph, the grant
Hot Business News Today
Budget 2021 and what it means for small business
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Rishi Sunak is set to extend furlough and other Covid support for small business in next month’s Budget 2021 on March 3.
The chancellor is almost certain to also extend the current business rates suspension for many small businesses, while setting the scene for an online sales tax all retailers may have to pay later in the year.
In July it was revealed that the Treasury was considering a 2 per cent online sales tax to raise £2bn a year, giving physical shops an advantage when it comes to purchases made instore.
>See also: SME owners hold £1.2bn of personal liabilities linked to Covid-19 loans
Recent polling by Kekst CNC found that an online sales tax would be the most popular way of recouping some of the costs of the Covid crisis: 56 per cent of voters want online retailers to pay more tax.
One idea is that small businesses that sell online could offset their business rates against the online sales tax, giving high street shops a boost.
Meanwhile, 18 companies and organisations including Waterstones have urged Sunak to introduce a digital sales tax while reducing business rates.
Business rates are assessed every few years and based on rent