Email us    0151 644 4848   
taxsave-header

 

Latest News

Welcome to the latest news section of our website, providing company updates as well as developments from the accounting sector.

Latest News

  • Home
    Home This is where you can find all the blog posts throughout the site.
  • Categories
    Categories Displays a list of categories from this blog.
  • Tags
    Tags Displays a list of tags that have been used in the blog.
19
Mar

LBW Accountants - We are here to help, support & provide guidance

Posted on in COVID-19
  • Font size: Larger Smaller
  • Hits: 993
  • Print

With the increasing concern over the current coronavirus situation we wanted to assure that it's business as usual here at LBW Chartered Accountants. 

What is LBW doing to ensure continued service? 

Our culture and technology already provide the opportunity for all of our staff to work from home with very little disruption to your service. In the event of a lockdown situation, your service will continue as normal with the reduction of face to face meetings. Our telephone is cloud-based and therefore all of our staff will still be at the end of a telephone should you require them.

How will LBW communicate with you and update you on new information? 

Our aim is to continue to communicate with you via regular updated newsletters with further support across our social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and our website.  We aim to bring you up to date information as soon as we have it in a clear and concise manner.

b2ap3_thumbnail_facebook.png  b2ap3_thumbnail_twitter.png   b2ap3_thumbnail_linkedin.png

What is LBW doing in the office to prevent Coronavirus? 

Our office has been provided with extra sanitary products where possible. We are actively encouraging self-isolation should any member of staff feel they have any of the virus symptoms. 

Again, due to our home working policy this means that staff may still be working while self-isolating, if they're well enough to do so. 

We at LBW are also a business that operates in the SME market and can therefore understand your concerns and worries.  We have therefore put together some strategic advice on how your business can plan and prepare in these uncertain times.  

Please click below for useful tips and guidance.

b2ap3_thumbnail_strategic-button.jpg

 

CORONAVIRUS BUSINESS INTERRUPTION LOAN SCHEME (CBILS)

Measures to support businesses experiencing increases in costs or financial disruptions 

A new temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), delivered by the British Business Bank, will launch in a matter of weeks to support businesses to access bank lending and overdrafts. The government will provide lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each loan (subject to a per-lender cap on claims) to give lenders further confidence in continuing to provide finance to SMEs. The government will not charge businesses or banks for this guarantee, and the Scheme will support loans of up to £5m (previously announced at £1.2m in the budget). 

This new guarantee will initially support up to £330 billion of lending on top of current support offered through the British Business Bank. The new CBILS scheme will offer interest holidays of 6 months and is intended to be launched next week

It will temporarily replace the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG), and operate in a similar way to EFG and be provided by the British Business Bank, but will offer more attractive terms for both businesses and lenders, with the aim of supporting the continued provision of finance to UK businesses during the Covid-19 outbreak. 

To be eligible for support via CBILS, the small business must:

  • Be based in the UK based, with annual turnover not exceeding £41 million 
  • Operate within an eligible industrial sector 
  • Have a sound borrowing proposal, but insufficient security to meet a lender’s normal requirements 
  • Be able to confirm that they have not received de minimise State aid beyond €200,000 equivalent over the current and previous two fiscal years 

The Chancellor has further announced that in addition to the above support measures for businesses, individuals (households) facing financial difficulties due to Covid-19 will be supported by their lending institutions with at least a 3-month mortgage payments holiday.

Please see the below links for more information:

https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/supporting-business-loans-enterprise-finance-guarantee/

https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/supporting-business-loans-enterprise-finance-guarantee/efg-for-advisors-smes/

GRANTS BASED ON BUSINESS RATES

Measures to support businesses experiencing increases in costs or financial disruptions

The government will provide an additional £2.2 billion funding for local authorities to support small businesses that already pay little or no Business Rates because of Small Business Rate Relief (SBBR). 

This will provide a one-off grant of £10,000 (previously announced at £3,000 in the budget) to around 700,000 business currently eligible for SBRR or Rural Rate Relief, to help meet their ongoing business costs. 

For a property with a rateable value of £15,000, this represents 2/3rd of their rateable value, or comparable to roughly 8 months of rent. This grant only applies to businesses in England as business rates in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are set by their devolved administrations. 

In response to the Prime Minister’s previous announcement to limit social contact in pubs and restaurants, the Chancellor has extended 100% business rates relief for 12 months for all businesses within the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors (this includes hotels, restaurants and coffee bars), regardless of size. 

In addition, companies occupying properties with a rateable value of less than £51,000 will be eligible for a cash grant of up to £25,000. 

Further details are expected within a few days. The discount that pubs receive on their business rates will increase from £1,000 to £5,000, as long as their rateable value is below £100,000 in England.

To find out the rateable value of your non-domestic property please use the below link:

https://www.gov.uk/correct-your-business-rates 

EMPLOYMENT COSTS

Immediate support for SMEs Measures to support businesses experiencing increases in costs or financial disruptions 

Legislation will be enacted to allow small-and medium-sized businesses and employers to reclaim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) paid for sickness absence due to COVID-19. 

The eligibility criteria for the scheme will be as follows:

  • The refund will cover up to 2 weeks’ SSP per eligible employee who has been off work because of COVID-19 
  • Employers with fewer than 250 employees (to be determined with reference to number employed as of 28 February 2020) will be eligible Employers will be able to reclaim expenditure for any employee who has claimed SSP (according to the new eligibility criteria) as a result of COVID-19 
  • Employers should maintain records of staff absences, but employees will not need to provide a GP fit note 
  • Eligible period for the scheme will commence the day after the regulations on the extension of Statutory Sick Pay to self-isolators comes into force 
  • The government will work with employers over the coming months to set up the repayment mechanism for employers as soon as possible (possibly via the RTI system). Existing HMRC systems are not designed to facilitate employer refunds for SSP 

The government will be refunding direct to the employers once their system is all in place in the next few weeks/months. Temporarily, the employers (company) can pay the SSP to the director/ directors from the day they have to go to self-isolate themselves.

EMPLOYMENT ALLOWANCE

The Chancellor announced an increase in the Employment Allowance from £3,000 to £4,000 to protect small businesses from the rise in the minimum wage. 

From next month companies will not have to pay Employer National Insurance Contributions on the first £4,000 of their annual bill. 

Changes had already been announced that the Allowance is only available where from 6 April the Class 1 National Insurance bill of the business or charity was below £100,000 in the previous tax year. 

You cannot claim the Employment Allowance from April 2020 if: 

  • you’re the director and the only employee paid above the secondary threshold 
  • you employ someone for personal, household or domestic work (like a nanny or gardener) – unless they’re a care or support worker 
  • you’re a public body or business doing more than half your work in the public sector (such as local councils and NHS services) – unless you’re a charity 
  • you’re a service company working under ‘IR35 rules’ and your only income is the earnings of the intermediary (such as your personal service company, limited company or partnership) 
  • Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) liability are at or above £100,000 in the tax year before the year of claim. 

This includes connected companies 

  • if the business exceeds the de minimise state aid threshold.

You may have recently received a generic notification from HMRC regarding the employment allowance.  If we process your payroll and you meet the above eligibility, we will automatically process the claim and there is no action required from you.

HELP FROM HMRC

HMRC Time to pay arrangement for outstanding tax liabilities 

Within the profession the commentary is that businesses who have used time to pay are receiving good support from HMRC. 

Since HMRC has a set up a phone helpline to support businesses and self-employed people concerned about not being able to pay their tax due to coronavirus (COVID-19) last week, SME businesses have started getting support to delay payment of their VAT and PAYE liabilities. Some have reported that HMRC is not asking for or only requiring minimal evidence and extending their payment deadlines for the foreseeable future. 

The helpline allows any business or self-employed individual who is concerned about paying their tax due to coronavirus to get practical help and advice. 

If you run a business or are self-employed and are concerned about paying your tax due to coronavirus, you can call 0800 0159 559.

For those who are unable to pay due to coronavirus, HMRC will discuss your specific circumstances to explore: 

  • agreeing an instalment arrangement 
  • suspending debt collection proceedings 
  • cancelling penalties and interest where you have administrative difficulties contacting or paying HMRC immediately 

Please see the following link for more details:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tax-helpline-to-support-businesses-affected-by-coronavirus-covid-19

HELP FOR THE SELF EMPLOYED AND LOW PAID

HM Treasury published guidance states: 

Those who are not eligible for SSP, for example the self-employed or people earning below the Lower Earnings Limit of £118 per week, can now more easily make a claim for Universal Credit or Contributory Employment and Support Allowance: 

  • For the duration of the outbreak, the requirements of the Universal Credit Minimum Income Floor will be temporarily relaxed for those who have COVID-19 or are self-isolating according to government advice, ensuring self-employed claimants will receive support. 
  • People will be able to claim Universal Credit and access advance payments upfront without the current requirement to attend a jobcentre if they are advised to self-isolate. 
  • Contributory Employment and Support Allowance will be payable, at a rate of £73.10 a week if you are over 25, for eligible people affected by COVID-19 or self-isolating in line with advice from Day 1 of sickness, rather than Day 8. 

Further information of how to apply for Universal Credit can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/apply-universal-credit

Last modified on

News Calendar

Loading ...

News Categories

COVID-19 (21)
LBW News (12)
Tax (13)
PAYE (2)
The Budget (10)
VAT (3)
Payroll (2)
Savings (1)
Marketing (1)
Pensions (1)

Latest from our blog