UK Budget
As you may be aware, the UK Budget was presented to the House of Commons by The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer (the UK’s finance minister) last week.
There were a number of significant measures announced, including a number having an impact on companies in the UK and I have sought to capture those key points in the link below:
Further spending announcements
Additionally, on the 17 March 2020, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a series of additional measures to buttress smaller companies from the economic effects of the spread of the coronavirus.
Those measures include providing £20 billion of business rates (a property-based tax on business) support and grant funding to help the most affected firms manage their cashflow through this period by:
Giving all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England a 100% business rates holiday for the next 12 months.
Increasing grants to small businesses eligible for Small Business Rate Relief from £3,000 to £10,000.
Providing further £25,000 grants to retail, hospitality and leisure businesses operating from smaller premises, with a rateable value over £15,000 and below £51,000.
These proposals are over and above the support for businesses generally which was also announced which includes:
Support for liquidity amongst large firms, with a major new scheme being launched by the Bank of England (the UK’s central bank) to help them bridge Coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans.
Increasing the amount businesses can borrow through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme from £1.2 million to £5 million, and ensuring businesses can access the first 6 months of that finance interest free, as Government will cover the first 6 months of interest payments.
Including new legal powers in the Covid Bill enabling us to offer whatever further financial support we think necessary to businesses.
These proposals are new and it will be interesting to see what practical effect they have. As the legislation is published in draft form, we will provide additional information.
With regards
Reuben Fevrier
Tax Partner
Arnold Hill & Co LLP
Should you have any queries or questions in respect of the above, please do not hesitate to contact your main contact at Arnold Hill or our Tax Partner, Reuben Fevrier:
Email - Reuben.Fevrier@Arnoldhill.co.uk
Contact Number - 0207 306 9100
The information in this article is believed to be factually correct at the time of writing and publication, but is not intended to constitute advice. No liability is accepted for any loss howsoever arising as a result of the contents of this article. Specific advice should be sought before entering into, or refraining from entering into any transaction.