Summer Budget: What’s in it for SME’s?

As we all slowly unwind from Coronavirus lock-down and the end of furlough support rapidly approaches, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has taken the unusual step of making fiscal announcements in the Summer, to try and head off a recession. New initiatives, of interest to SME’s, include:

• Job Retention Bonus – £1,000 bonus paid per employee for those kept employed (and not made redundant) after furlough ends.
• Younger Workers – Kickstart Scheme launched, to reimburse employers 6 months wages for taking on 16 -24 year olds as new employees.
• Training – £1,000 paid to employers for taking on each new trainee.
• Careers Advice – To now be better funded.
• Apprenticeships – £2,000 paid to employers for taking on each new apprentice.
• Job Centres – Higher funding to DWP to assist with finding jobs for the unemployed.
• Investment Projects – More funding for new capital and green projects.
• New Homes Grant – Up to £5k per household grant to cover up to 2/3 of the costs of improved household energy efficiency.
• New House Building – Stamp Duty Land Tax cut to Nil on house purchase above threshold raised from £125k to £500k properties.
• Hospitality & Tourism – Support for these sectors via:
  • VAT to be reduced from 20% to 5% (for 6 months),
  • For August 2020, everyone in country given a 50% discount voucher (worth up to maximum £10 per head) for eating out.

As expected, support for jobs, jobs, jobs (retention and creation) is the primary aim of these announcements. So the expected tax rises, to pay for Coronavirus Government support, can be expected another day.

Disclaimer - All information in this post was correct at time of writing.