The chancellor has announced new measures to take us into the winter.
I've picked out a few key points:
- The scheme will run for 6 months from 1st Nov.
- Workers will be paid by employers for the hours they work. Where workers are working 33% or more of their normal hours - for hours that cannot be worked, employers will pay for a third of those hours and the government will pay another third. Thus workers will be paid for two-thirds of the hours they have lost as a result of COVID - capped at £697.92 per month.
- The scheme is open to all UK businesses including those that have not used furlough scheme previously
- A taxable grant for self-employed workers worth 20% of average monthly income (capped at £1.875) is available for those that continue to trade but face diminished demand for their services. This covers Nov to end of Jan, a second grant will be available for Feb to end of April - but the details may be adjusted to given the changeable circumstances.
- The 15% VAT cut for the tourism and hospitality industry will be extended to March. VAT bills can be deferred to 11 smaller interest-free payment.
- Self-assessment taxpayers will also receive an extension for tax payments: those due in Jan 2021 will be deferred to Jan 2022.
There are some additional measures for businesses but I'm not sure if this is relevant to you. If you want to see more, click the link below to jump to the gov.uk website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-outlines-winter-economy-plan
So what do you think? Is it enough? Will it work?
Will we be left paying higher tax bills to fund this little lot for the rest of our lives - and how does that impact on your business and people?
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