When drowning in a daily ‘sea’ of new information, reacting to new data, managing the change to work patterns or indeed no ability to operate at all, you’d be forgiven for not adding to your already challenging day by diverting some attention to ‘Plan Ahead’ and the ‘Next Normal’ – whatever that is.
Working towards the sale of a family business after years of blood, sweat and tears, is an extremely stressful time for most business owners. Whether the decision to exit is retirement, moving on to pastures new, or simply receiving an unexpected offer which is too good to refuse, what follows is almost inevitably complex and usually emotive negotiations, due diligence, late nights and a raft of paperwork.
The UK Government has announced plans for a £1.25 billion coronavirus package to protect innovative UK businesses.
Following the provision of helplines, payment extensions and other support offered to those feeling the effects of coronavirus (COVID-19), HM Revenue & Customs (‘HMRC’) are now feeling the effects of this themselves.
These are unprecedented times, and we all know the NHS is under enormous pressure. NHS staff in particular are on the front line of this fight against COVID-19, and many have come to the UK from overseas to work or train here, providing us with much needed skills and support across the NHS. I’m sure everyone will have heard Boris Johnston’s heartfelt thank you to the dedicated nurses who took great care of him, both of whom came from overseas. Those same nurses, and indeed the rest of the NHS community, also rely on access to first class and appropriate medical equipment which can only be delivered with the help of skilled engineering expertise and resources.
The Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (“CLBILS” and the “Scheme”) provides financial support of up to £50m to mid-sized and larger UK businesses across the UK that are losing revenue and seeing their cashflow disrupted, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Scheme will opened Monday 20 April 2020 and provides support to businesses that were too large to access the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (“CBILS”).
As a consequence of the Posting of Workers Directive and the Terms of Employment Posted Workers in the EU Act (WagwEU), with effect from 1st March 2020, employers from countries in the EEA and/or Switzerland who post employees to the Netherlands on a temporary basis are required to register those employees before they start working in the Netherlands.
With current uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is a concerning time for small business owners. We have outlined the support measures available to small businesses announced by the Government below, full details can be found on the Government’s Covid-19 website.
The Government has announced a variety of support packages for SMEs to minimise disruption and steer them through the impact of COVID-19.
The Government has announced a substantial emergency package to support the long-term survival of UK businesses. It is essential that businesses are aware of the support packages made available by the Government and that they obtain support quickly in order to minimise business disruption and to steer them through the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. AAB has summarised below the support available to UK large businesses:
COVID-19 is a global issue and governments around the world are providing temporary tax breaks to help their struggling economies. Indirect taxes are a common area for reliefs to be applied.
As COVID-19 continues to have an impact across the globe and on the economy, it is also having an impact on completion of work within the usual deadlines. As companies are focusing on operational aspects of business, Corporate Tax Return filing deadlines and payments may not be at the forefront. Many tax authorities across the globe are starting to recognise the challenges of meeting ‘normal’ deadlines and have issued guidance on Corporate Tax filing and payment extensions. Outlined below are just a few examples of the changes made by selected countries already and these are being updated daily.
Four weeks ago, the First Minister announced that the Scottish Government was establishing a £350 million emergency package of support for communities, which included a £50 million wellbeing fund for Third Sector organisations.
Investment values have taken a severe downward knock in recent weeks following the Coronavirus outbreak and a slump in oil prices.
From 6 April 2020, all non-UK resident companies carrying on a UK property business will be charged Corporation Tax, rather than the previous Income Tax treatment. These changes have been introduced to deliver an equalised tax treatment for UK and non-UK companies in receipt of property income and follows the UK Government’s attempt to ‘level the playing field’ in line with previous revisions to the Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax regimes.
The double whammy of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of the Opec+ price war is presenting what is rapidly becoming the upstream oil and gas sector’s biggest challenge to date.
With COVID-19 continuing to cause disruption to businesses and economies all over the world, we are seeing more and more countries providing rescue schemes to companies and employees alike.
Although these are uncertain times due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, HM Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”) have confirmed their commitment to processing Research and Development (“R&D”) tax relief claims timeously to ensure companies eligible for repayments will still get these issued within 28 days if they are a small or medium sized claimant.
*Updated 8 May*
As well as the Government support measures for businesses regardless of sector in the UK, there are also a number of sector specific support packages available which we have listed below.
