As the dust settles on a Chancellor’s Budget speech that was more an animated short, rather than the summer blockbuster we all hoped for, there is a sense of relief for the majority of self-employed and small business owners around the UK. But there are still over 2 million self-employed and small business owners that are shaking their heads in further frustrations as quite simply, nothing has changed.
With the UK tax burden at it’s highest since the 1960’s you’d be forgiven in thinking that there is a ton of cash splashing around. But for up to 3 million UK Taxpayers there is no relief, no respite and as importantly, no cash.
According to ExcludedUK, a non-profit organisation set up last year to champion the needs of excluded self-employed and small business owners, there are somewhere in the region of 3,000,000 people receiving little or no support through the pandemic.
ExcludedUK is a grassroots volunteer-run not-for-profit organisation working towards bringing about an end to the exclusions in the UK Government’s Covid-19 financial support measures across all employment statuses, circumstances, professions and industries. These exclusions have led to significant disparities within the support offered, resulting in unfairness, injustice, discrimination and severe hardship for those affected.
Covid-19 and the ensuing lockdown presented the most unforeseen challenges to many individuals and businesses across the UK. While government support packages have provided much needed support for many, there remain some 3 million taxpayers – 10% of the UK workforce, who have found themselves excluded from meaningful support, leaving large cracks within these measures.
Sadly it can be heard, when the challenged the Prime Minister saying that the Westminster Leader of the SNP is ‘talking rubbish’ when challenged about those that are going without
Whilst it’s very easy to take aim and fire at the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak has made ‘Herculean’ efforts in trying to support UK Business. Not since World War 2 has a member of Government had to make such important decisions and at some pace, (when you think about how Public Services usually work).
The chancellor’s first package of measures were unveiled at the start of the pandemic in March last year. If they suffered a loss in income, people who were self-employed or in partnerships were paid a taxable grant worth 80% of their profits, up to £2,500 per month. It was available to those who had been trading in the financial year 2018-2019, and were planning to continue doing so, but whose business had been hit by coronavirus.
Help was initially given as one lump-sum payment to cover three months. Over the summer a “second and final” payment was announced covering 70% of profits, up to a cap of £2,190 per month for another three months – £6,570 in total. It proved not to be the final payment, but the second of four. The third, (not so final), payment covered 80% of profits for November, December and January, up to a total limit of £7,500 – paid in a single instalment. Applications for this grant have now closed.
But despite his announcement of an estimated 600,000 self-employed workers now being able to claim money, the reality will be very different. It’s unusual for a business to make Any profit in it’s first year, so baring that in mind, if you are a self-employed small business owner who made no profit in 2019-2020 you’ll get 80% of that profit…which is still nothing. See the flaw?
Unfortunately it continues to show a clear lack of understanding and focus on small business in the UK and the hugely important role they have for the British economy, generating around 40% of GDP. And as larger businesses, especially on the High Street, have collapsed it will be those same businesses that perhaps were treated as an afterthought, that will get the UK economy back on its feet again.
Despite all of this there were some highlights for businesses and here’s a quick summary of what was in the Chancellor’s Budget for the self-employed and small business owner:
It’s business and self employed 1:01. You’ve said it about them; they’ve said it about you. Well, maybe we just said it to ourselves, murmuring slightly with an un-noticed eye roll, or have at least thought, “Just get to the damn point already!”
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