On 3rd March, Rishi Sunak unveiled the Government’s spending plans for the year. His speech outlined several support schemes to aid business and economic recovery in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. Read on to discover how the budget for 2021 could impact your business.
Summary of the 2021 budget:
- Furlough scheme extended until September 2021
- New Help to Grow scheme to fund management and digital skills training
- Extended financial support for the self-employed
- Restart Grants and Recovery Loans available
- Extension to business rates holiday and reduced VAT
- Tax break for business investors
- National minimum wage to increase to £8.91 from April
- Small businesses exempt from 2023 corporation tax rise
- Fast-track visa scheme to help start-ups and tech firms hire internationally
Job Retention scheme
Furloughed employees will continue to receive 80% of their salary until September, with employers contributing towards the cost from July.
Help to Grow scheme
Under this scheme, the Government will fund 90% of management training costs for small businesses and provide grants of up to £5,000 for digital productivity software.
Self-Employment Income Support
Self-employed workers will be able to claim two more grants and a further 600,000 individuals will be eligible for income support if they submitted a tax return for the year 2019-2020.
Restart Grant & Recovery Loan
Grants of up to £18,000 will be available to non-essential retailers and businesses in the hospitality, leisure and personal care sectors. Companies can also borrow anywhere from £1,000 to £10 million to aid their recovery until the end of the year.
Business rate & VAT relief
The business rates exemption for 750,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties will be extended until July and VAT will remain at 5% for these sectors until September.
Corporation tax freeze
Small business with profits of less than £50,000 will be exempt from the corporation tax rise in 2023 and only the top 10% of businesses will pay the full 25% rate.
Super-deduction tax break for investors
Businesses will be able to deduct investment costs from their tax bills over the next two years, reducing taxable profits by 130%.
Navigating the 2021 budget
Whether you need assistance with the furlough scheme and payroll or help managing the changes to corporation tax, the Leeds-based team at UWM Accountants is on hand to help. Contact us today for a friendly chat about your requirements.
