NEW YEAR. NEW LOCKDOWN. THE WAY FORWARD

5 January 2021

Well, we hope you all enjoyed your respective festive breaks – albeit probably rather different ones to usual – and now we’re all back to the harsh reality of Lockdown 3.

Obviously the impact for many businesses will be considerable. And right now, this is compounded by businesses in many sectors trying to get to grips with the implications of the Brexit deal (incidentally, we’ll also be providing the latest updates on all things Brexit, VAT and Customs related over the coming weeks).

On the back of the latest national lockdown, announced on the evening of 4 January, Rishi Sunak has released details of one-off grants that will be available for businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. The grants will be worth up to £9,000 per property, depending on the rateable value. Our “rents and rates” page provides more detail. The Chancellor underpinned this latest news by stating that he was ‘committed to protecting jobs and supporting businesses.’

Don’t forget that this new measure is on top of the announcements on 17 December?

• The coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS) has been extended until 30 April 2021 rather than 31 March 2021. The government will continue to pay up to 80% of the employee’s wages for hours not worked, with employers paying national insurance contributions and pension contributions. These terms will no longer be reviewed in January, when it was originally thought employers could be asked to contribute towards wages as well. See our “people” page for more details on the CJRS.
• Businesses will also have until the end of March to access the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme. These had been due to close at the end of January.
• Next year’s Budget date has also been set, on 3 March 2021. Changes to Capital Gains Tax have been widely anticipated to be announced. However, this date has been pushed back before, and in the light of the third national lockdown being announced, could this happen again? We’ll keep you informed and let you know what this might mean for you, when we have more information.

So, whilst it appears to be a constant flow of challenging news for business, the prospect of a roll out of both the Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines is proof that there is light at the end of this seemingly endless tunnel.

As we have done since March last year, if you have any questions on any of these themes, our specialists are happy to pick up on them with you. Please get in touch here.