Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
More than half a million businesses are at risk of collapse by the spring unless the government extends Covid business support.
So says thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in its latest report.
The 600,000 businesses at risk of collapse without more support together employ approximately 9m people, “whose jobs could be lost” said the left-of-centre thinktank.
Small businesses (which together are responsible for a large share of UK employment) are most at risk of bankruptcy. About 40 per cent of firms with fewer than 50 employees have less than three months of remaining cash reserves.
>See also: SME owners hold £1.2bn of personal liabilities linked to Covid-19 loans
Half of all hospitality, food and other specialist service companies have less than three months’ cash left, as do 40 per cent of arts and entertainment businesses.
Overall, the number of companies with “dangerously low” cash buffers has risen sharply over the four months to the end of January, as national lockdowns slash trading, the IPPR said.
The chancellor should use the March 3 Budget to extend the furlough scheme, due to end in April, issue more grants, and take equity stakes in businesses in exchange for cash injections,
Tag Archive for Government Grants
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Half a million businesses at risk of collapse without more support
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
More than half a million businesses are at risk of collapse by the spring unless the government extends Covid business support.
So says thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in its latest report.
The 600,000 businesses at risk of collapse without more support together employ approximately 9m people, “whose jobs could be lost” said the left-of-centre thinktank.
Small businesses (which together are responsible for a large share of UK employment) are most at risk of bankruptcy. About 40 per cent of firms with fewer than 50 employees have less than three months of remaining cash reserves.
>See also: SME owners hold £1.2bn of personal liabilities linked to Covid-19 loans
Half of all hospitality, food and other specialist service companies have less than three months’ cash left, as do 40 per cent of arts and entertainment businesses.
Overall, the number of companies with “dangerously low” cash buffers has risen sharply over the four months to the end of January, as national lockdowns slash trading, the IPPR said.
The chancellor should use the March 3 Budget to extend the furlough scheme, due to end in April, issue more grants, and take equity stakes in businesses in exchange for cash injections,
Hot Business News Today
Local authorities blame government for slow release of Covid-19 grants
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Local authorities have blamed government for the slow payment of Covid-19 grants during lockdown, with businesses still waiting for cash.
Although government says it has paid out the £4.6bn worth of Covid-19 grants to be distributed by all 314 local authorities over the current national lockdown, it still has to release of the £12bn worth of support first offered last year.
There have been 10 different tranches of funding to keep small businesses going through local-tier restrictions established in October and the one-month lockdown for England that ran from November 5.
>See also: £9000 lockdown grant for businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure
The schemes also cover support for different regional restrictions in December and the current lockdown in England, which is expected to run until at least February 22.
The Local Government Association says that councils have also been struggling to distribute the money, due to increased state-aid compliance issues and vetting applicants for fraud. They have focused on getting larger amounts for January’s closures out the door, as opposed to last year’s smaller grants.
But businesses still awaiting grants say they may not still be in business by the time money is finally released.
>See also: Where to
Hot Business News Today
Local authorities blame government for slow release of Covid-19 grants
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Local authorities have blamed government for the slow payment of Covid-19 grants during lockdown, with businesses still waiting for cash.
Although government says it has paid out the £4.6bn worth of Covid-19 grants to be distributed by all 314 local authorities over the current national lockdown, it still has to release of the £12bn worth of support first offered last year.
There have been 10 different tranches of funding to keep small businesses going through local-tier restrictions established in October and the one-month lockdown for England that ran from November 5.
>See also: £9000 lockdown grant for businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure
The schemes also cover support for different regional restrictions in December and the current lockdown in England, which is expected to run until at least February 22.
The Local Government Association says that councils have also been struggling to distribute the money, due to increased state-aid compliance issues and vetting applicants for fraud. They have focused on getting larger amounts for January’s closures out the door, as opposed to last year’s smaller grants.
But businesses still awaiting grants say they may not still be in business by the time money is finally released.
>See also: Where to
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Government must help self-employed excluded due to 50% income rule
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The government should act to help self-employed excluded from Covid support because more than 50% of their income comes from elsewhere.
This deliberate exclusion is unfair and disproportionately attacks women on modest incomes, says the influential Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
This is the second time the IFS has waded into the argument about the self-employed in as many days. Yesterday, the IFS published a report calling for the self-employed to pay more tax.
>See also: You should file your tax return by January 31, despite HMRC extension
Over a million self-employed people who have less than 50% of their income coming from self-employment have been excluded from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).
The IFS says that it is manifestly unfair that someone who declares profits of 51 per cent from self-employed income can claim the maximum, while those who claim 49 per cent of profits get nothing.
SEISS provides payments once per quarter worth 80 per cent of pre-pandemic profits up to a cap of £7,500 (per quarter) for eligible self-employed workers who have been adversely affected by the pandemic.
The scheme is expected to have cost £28bn by April 2021, making emergency Covid payments to at least
Hot Business News Today
Government must help self-employed excluded due to 50% income rule
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The government should act to help self-employed excluded from Covid support because more than 50% of their income comes from elsewhere.
This deliberate exclusion is unfair and disproportionately attacks women on modest incomes, says the influential Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
This is the second time the IFS has waded into the argument about the self-employed in as many days. Yesterday, the IFS published a report calling for the self-employed to pay more tax.
>See also: You should file your tax return by January 31, despite HMRC extension
Over a million self-employed people who have less than 50% of their income coming from self-employment have been excluded from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).
The IFS says that it is manifestly unfair that someone who declares profits of 51 per cent from self-employed income can claim the maximum, while those who claim 49 per cent of profits get nothing.
SEISS provides payments once per quarter worth 80 per cent of pre-pandemic profits up to a cap of £7,500 (per quarter) for eligible self-employed workers who have been adversely affected by the pandemic.
The scheme is expected to have cost £28bn by April 2021, making emergency Covid payments to at least
Hot Business News Today
MPs give taxman six weeks to sort out Covid payments for freelancers
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
MPs have given HMRC six weeks to come up with solutions for freelancers and others excluded from receiving Covid financial support.
In its report, the influential Public Accounts Committee has asked the taxman to explain why 1.6m freelancers alone have been excluded from Covid help, let alone the 3m excluded overall.
MPs blamed “quirks in the tax system” making groups of workers, including freelancers and the self-employed, ineligible for furlough payments.
>See also: Thousands of self-employed mothers miss out on COVID-19 SEISS payments
Meg Hillier MP, chair of the PAC, said: “As public spending balloons to unprecedented levels in response to the pandemic, out-of-date tax systems are one of the barriers to getting help to a significant of struggling taxpayers who should be entitled to support.”
The PAC MPs are just one group calling for the chancellor to give financial support to freelancers excluded from Covid support.
Meanwhile, former Brexit secretary David Davis has written to chancellor Rishi Sunak asking him to ensure that the newly self-employed are included in the final found of Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grants.
This could see more than half a million freelancers qualifying for emergency Covid financial support after all. This is because
Hot Business News Today
MPs give taxman six weeks to sort out Covid payments for freelancers
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
MPs have given HMRC six weeks to come up with solutions for freelancers and others excluded from receiving Covid financial support.
In its report, the influential Public Accounts Committee has asked the taxman to explain why 1.6m freelancers alone have been excluded from Covid help, let alone the 3m excluded overall.
MPs blamed “quirks in the tax system” making groups of workers, including freelancers and the self-employed, ineligible for furlough payments.
>See also: Thousands of self-employed mothers miss out on COVID-19 SEISS payments
Meg Hillier MP, chair of the PAC, said: “As public spending balloons to unprecedented levels in response to the pandemic, out-of-date tax systems are one of the barriers to getting help to a significant of struggling taxpayers who should be entitled to support.”
The PAC MPs are just one group calling for the chancellor to give financial support to freelancers excluded from Covid support.
Meanwhile, former Brexit secretary David Davis has written to chancellor Rishi Sunak asking him to ensure that the newly self-employed are included in the final found of Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grants.
This could see more than half a million freelancers qualifying for emergency Covid financial support after all. This is because
Hot Business News Today
Extra cash for ‘wet’ pubs hit by Tier 2 and 3 lockdown
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
UPDATED: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said there will be a one-off payment in December of £1,000 to “wet” pubs in England – pubs which do not serve food – which are having to close in Tiers 2 and 3.
The Prime Minister made the pledge as part of his opening statement in today’s House of Commons debate on the incoming tier system, which is due to come into effect throughout England from tomorrow.
Mr Johnson said the one-off £1,000 payment recognised how hard pubs have been hit in what is normally “their busiest month”.
However, the Federation of Small Businesses dismissed the gesture, pointing out that £1,000 will cover the cost of a single keg of beer.
The government’s new tiered coronavirus system will slash income for pubs and restaurants, 98 per cent of which will either be in Tier 2 or Tier 3, in half meaning £7.8bn in lost incomes, according to trade body UKHospitality.
>See also: Non-essential retail and gyms to reopen next month under new tier rules
The new tiered system, which has been described as a death knell for thousands of pubs and restaurants, requires all premises in Tier 3 to offer only takeaway
Hot Business News Today
Extra cash for ‘wet’ pubs hit by Tier 2 and 3 lockdown
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
UPDATED: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said there will be a one-off payment in December of £1,000 to “wet” pubs in England – pubs which do not serve food – which are having to close in Tiers 2 and 3.
The Prime Minister made the pledge as part of his opening statement in today’s House of Commons debate on the incoming tier system, which is due to come into effect throughout England from tomorrow.
Mr Johnson said the one-off £1,000 payment recognised how hard pubs have been hit in what is normally “their busiest month”.
However, the Federation of Small Businesses dismissed the gesture, pointing out that £1,000 will cover the cost of a single keg of beer.
The government’s new tiered coronavirus system will slash income for pubs and restaurants, 98 per cent of which will either be in Tier 2 or Tier 3, in half meaning £7.8bn in lost incomes, according to trade body UKHospitality.
>See also: Non-essential retail and gyms to reopen next month under new tier rules
The new tiered system, which has been described as a death knell for thousands of pubs and restaurants, requires all premises in Tier 3 to offer only takeaway