COVID-19 - Update On Support for Business

This is our eighth update on COVID-19 guidance and provides more information on the assistance available for businesses in Wales. 

Please be aware of scams as there are texts, phone calls, letters and emails offering support that may be fraudulent.

The latest support is the Coronavirus Future Fund that was announced recently and will be starting sometime next month and the Bounce Back Loan scheme - applications for this will open 4 May 2020.

We provide details of both schemes below along with the other support measures that have been covered by our previous seven eNews on COVID-19.

If you are not sure what help your business is entitled to, please do contact us or go to www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder and you can work through the checker to see what help is available.

To summarise, the following support has been made available:-

• The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS): Claims can now be made for this via the employer's Government Gateway PAYE account or by us as agents and HMRC has at last started to pay out claims directly into employer bank accounts. This scheme is now running until the end of June.
• Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): SSP can be reimbursed to employers if paid due to coronavirus for two weeks per employee but the online service to reclaim the SSP is not yet available. More guidance will be issued soon.
• Deferring tax liabilities: If you cannot pay your tax on time due to coronavirus, you can automatically delay VAT payments that they are due before 30 June 2020 until 31 March 2021.

You can also automatically delay your self-assessment payment on account due in July 2020 until 31 January 2021.

If you owe less than £10,000 in respect of self assessment tax bill, you may be able to arrange to pay this online in instalments via the gov.uk website.

To defer any taxes due to coronavirus, please contact HMRC on their coronavirus helpline 0800 024 1222.

• Business Rates Relief: If you have business premises but have not checked your eligibility, please contact us or your local council.
• Welsh Resilience Fund Grants: These have been paused due to high volumes of claims and we are waiting to see what further support will be offered for those unable to claim.
• Self-Employment Income Support Scheme: This is due to launch in May when HMRC will be writing to tax payers to explain how they can claim and the first monies should be paid out in mid-June directly into taxpayers' bank accounts.
• The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). This is for small and medium sized businesses and offers loans that are free from interest and fees for the first 12 months with a Government guarantee of 80% on loans. There are over 40 accredited lenders in the scheme. Full guidance is on the British Business Bank website.
• The Coronavirus Future Fund: This is offering convertible loans to innovative companies and will launch in May 2020. The loan is subject to equal match funding from private investors and will delivered with the British Business Bank. Further details are to be announced soon.
• The Coronavirus Bounce Back Loan: This is going to provide small and medium sized businesses with loans of between £2,000 and £50,000 each. The Government will guarantee 100% of the loan and there will not be any fees or interest to pay for the first 12 months.

Loan terms will be up to 6 years with no repayments due in the first 12 months. The Government is intending to work with lenders to agree a low rate of interest and loans will be delivered through a network of accredited lenders.

Businesses based in the UK that have been affected by coronavirus but were not in difficulty on 31 December 2019 will be able to apply. You will not be able to apply for this scheme if you have already applied for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme but you can transfer your CBILS loan to the Bounce Back Loan scheme if you do so by 4 November 2020. Further details are to be announced soon.

We will keep you updated of developments.