Newslink October

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Chancellor’s support package offers
slim ray of hope for self-employed
Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s new package of
support for employees and the selfemployed
whose jobs have been affected
by the Covid-19 pandemic offers some
hope for those struggling with the
economic fall-out of the virus.
Clearly, the full details of the support
available are complex and too lengthy to
reproduce in full here, but members are
urged to see the government website at
https://www.gov.uk/government/
publications/self-employment-incomesupport-scheme-grant-extension
to check out if any help is available to
them over the coming months.
MSA GB national chairman Peter
Harvey commented: “While most ADIs I
speak to are very busy at the moment,
working through the backlog of pupils
whose tests were cancelled and who
now need refresher lessons, and those
whose learning journeys were targeted at
taking their tests in autumn and winter,
this busy period may cease soon and
such support may become vital.
“At MSA GB we are particularly
concerned that bottlenecks in the testing
regime may result in pupil numbers
falling off.
“For instance, in Scotland, at the time
of writing, theory tests are very difficult
to obtain, and without a theory test pass
some pupils will be reluctant to take their
tuition up to a point where they are ready
for a practical test. Some may mothball
their learning for long periods.
“While in England and Wales theory
test availability is a little better, they are
still lengthy and there are some areas
where tests are hard to come by.
“When this is combined with some
problems with availability for practical
tests, such as where examiners are ill/
self-isolating, or DTCs have not
reopened, thus reducing capacity, there
is a real concern that pupil numbers
could fall.
“There is also a question mark over
whether the crop of teenagers becoming
eligible for driving lessons will be as keen
to start learing to drive as their
predecessors, for health or financial
reasons.
“That’s why, even if you are very busy
at the moment, please take some time to
read these notes and see if you are
eligible for funding.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak:
His package of support
has been welcomed by
many business groups
Key points
We have set out below some of the key
points in the new support scheme for the
self-employed.
n The Chancellor’s new support
package starts on November 1 and lasts
six months. It will be paid in the form of
two taxable grants: the first will cover
from the start of November to the end of
January, and the second February until
the end of April.
n The first grant will cover 20 per cent
of trading profits for three months,
capped at £1,875 per month. It will
be paid in a single instalment.
The level of the second grant will be
revealed soon.
n Only those eligible for the current
Self-Employed Income Support Scheme
(SEISS) can apply. To be eligible you
must have filed a tax return for 2018/19,
must earn more than 50% of your total
income from self-employment and your
average trading profit must be no more
than £50,000/yr.
n You need to have been adversely
affected by coronavirus to claim. This
could be a a reduction in pupils or loss of
other earnings, ie, driver awareness/
speed awareness programmes.
The length of time you will have had to
have been affected for has not been
revealed as yet. The MSA will endeavour
to find out and update our advice when
we hear more.
n The grants are subject to Income Tax
and National Insurance Contributions.
Other parts of the package of support
that are of interest to ADIs:
n Self-assessment payments can be
delayed further. If you had a Payment on
Account due for the Tax Year 2019/20
in July 2020, which you deferred under
the previous extension to January 2021,
you are now entitled to defer this for a
further period up to 31 January 2022.
n In addition, if you have any balance
of tax to pay for 2019/20, after taking
into account the Payments on Account
already made, you are also entitled to
defer this until 31 January 2022.
This means that effectively, you need
not pay tax until January 2022 – but we
strongly advise you to start putting
money aside for your tax bill as it is liable
to be very large.
n If you have taken out a ‘Bounce
Back Loan’ you will have longer to pay it
back – up to 10 years, with the first year
interest-free and the rest at 2.5%.
n If you are VAT-rated, you can delay
any VAT payments due and spread
them throughout the 2021-22 financial
year.
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NEWSLINK n OCTOBER 2020