COVID-19 BUSINESS SUPPORT
By Paul White,
Managing Director of APH Accountants
Ever since Mid-March the government have released one measure
after another to prop up the economy. Under immense pressure
to avert an economic disaster, they seem to be delivering on their
financial promises.
Business Rates Cash Grant (BRCG) The portal for this opened
with Wirral Council on the 30th March a mere two weeks after the
announcement of this support and money was hitting client’s accounts
within 48 hours. This was life saving for many businesses especially in
the retail, leisure and hospitality sector who were coming to a grinding
halt as we entered the second week of the lockdown.
Top-up to local business grant funds scheme Once the government
realised that a number of businesses had missed out on the BRCG they
introduced a further scheme aimed at businesses who shared office space
or were market traders etc. This will be a discretionary fund controlled
by local councils with a remit and the discretion to help any business
based on local economic need. This should be open any day soon.
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) They have provided
support to millions of employees nationwide and saved potentially
millions of jobs in the process. The scheme was set up and put in place
by mid-April, a mere 4 weeks after it was announced. Money was hitting
client accounts within 5 days of making a claim.
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) Because
the uptake this was so poor and it was inherent with difficulties, the
government stepped in again at the end of April and introduced the
Coronavirus Business Bounce Back Loan (CBBL). The portal for this
opened a week later, the application process is less than 10 minutes and
incredibly money was hitting some clients accounts the same day in some
instances, providing a vital and much needed lifeline for businesses.
Self Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) The portal for this
opened on the 13th May and claims will hit the millions with payouts
promised early June or maybe sooner. Unfortunately, HMRC are
insisting that the individual taxpayer must apply for this rather than
letting their Accountants take care of the process for them. This seems to
be the last of the major support packages to be rolled out and hopefully
it goes as smoothly as some of the ones mentioned above.
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Other measures include recovering Statutory Sick Pay for Covid-19
related sickness, Deferral of Vat Liabilities to 31.03.21, Deferral of
Second Payments on Account for those in the Self-Assessment regime,
Business Rates Relief for those in the Retail, Leisure and Hospitality
sector and finally offered further help with Time to Pay arrangements
almost automatically granting three month extensions to anyone in
financial difficulty due to the Coronavirus.
As varied and wide ranging as these measures are unfortunately not every
single person has been catered for. Small Limited Company Directors on
low pay have suffered, anyone self-employed after the 6th April 2019
have also been missed. Landlords are suffering if tenants are struggling
to pay, (though most mortgage providers have offered 3-month payment
holidays). Universal credits have helped some of those missed out but
certainly not all.
At APH we took the decision not to charge any client for furlough
claims or any kind of support in relation to Covid-19 Business Support
packages announced by the Government. It was our mission to help as
many businesses survive through this pandemic as much as possible
without adding to their problems.
The Governments package of measures run into the tens of billions of
pounds and are currently propping up a floundering economy. What
has impressed me the most despite some missing out, is the scale and
speed of how HMRC and other bodies have responded and put systems
in place even when we were waiting for the laws, rules and regulations to
catch up! Couple that with how quickly a cash starved economy started
receiving the money then it’s a remarkable achievement in such a short
space of time.
It’s not often I commend HMRC, they are often portrayed as the
pantomime villain with business owners and Accountants, but it is one
hell of an achievement what they have done.
The way forward is still unclear at the time of writing and I am sure, in
the not too distant future, that Government borrowing to fund the above
financial measures will flow through into the tax system.
However, the Bounce Back Loans are designed to help us bounce back,
and bounce back we will.