HMRC has reopened a claims portal for small employers to again claim refunds for coronavirus (COVID-19)-related sick pay.

The reopening follows the announcement of the reintroduction of the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (SSPRS) from 21 December 2021 for employers with fewer than 250 employees by the government.

The maximum claim per employee is two weeks at the statutory sick pay (SSP) rate of £96.35 per week (£192.70 in total). The employer’s claim is also capped at the number of employees in its PAYE scheme on 30 November 2021.

The claims portal reopened on 19 January 2022 and employers can check the eligibility of their claims on GOV.UK.

HM Treasury and HMRC have not announced an end date for the SSPRS. However, the legislation states that a claim may not be made after the end of 24 March 2022.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) said:

‘There is an inevitable time lag between absence periods and having the information to make a claim (particularly when claims are made by agents). Therefore, there will hopefully be a realistic window between the end date for the SSPRS and the date that the claims portal will close.’

Internet link: GOV.UK

The government’s Help to Grow: Digital scheme – designed to support smaller businesses in adopting digital technologies – is now open for applications.

Under the scheme, eligible businesses can now receive discounts of up to £5,000 off the retail price of approved digital accounting and CRM software from leading technology suppliers.

Businesses can also access practical, specialised support and advice on how to choose the right digital technologies to boost their growth and productivity.

Currently three accounting software providers are signed up to the scheme – Sage, Intuit and E-crunch. The next phase of the programme will see the scheme extended to e-commerce software.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said:

‘I want UK businesses to be primed and ready to seize all the opportunities on the horizon as we build back better from the pandemic.

‘Adopting technology means higher performance, and the Help to Grow: Digital scheme is future-proofing our small businesses and putting the UK at the forefront of the worldwide digital revolution.’

Internet link: Help to Grow website

HMRC has warned that businesses must declare any coronavirus (COVID-19) support grants or payments on their company tax returns and stated that the grants and payments are taxable.

The deadline for filing company tax returns is 12 months after the end of the accounting period.

The deadline to pay corporation tax will depend on any taxable profits and when the end of the accounting period occurs. It is generally nine months after the end of the accounting period unless profits exceed £1.5 million.

Grants to be included as taxable income include:

• Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate
• Coronavirus Business Support Grants (also known as local authority grants or business rate grants)
• Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) grant
• Eat Out to Help Out payment.

If a company received any of these payments, they will need to do both of the following on their CT600 tax return:

• include it as income when calculating their taxable profits in line with the relevant accounting standards
• report it separately on their company tax return using the CJRS and Eat Out to Help Out boxes.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:

‘We want to make sure companies are getting their tax returns right, first time, including any COVID-19 support payment declarations. Support and guidance is available on GOV.UK.’

Internet link: HMRC press release  GOV.UK

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is set to introduce a new consumer duty to better protect users of financial services.

The new rules will help tackle harmful practices such as providers of financial services presenting information in a way that exploits consumers’ behavioural biases; selling products or services that are not fit for purpose; or providing poor customer support.

The FCA says it wants to ‘drive a fundamental shift in industry mindset’ by raising standards and helping firms to get products and services right in the first place.

The new rules will mean firms will have to place emphasis on supporting and empowering their clients to make good financial decisions and avoid foreseeable harm throughout the customer relationship.

Firms will be required to provide customers with information they can understand; offer products and services that are fit for purpose; and provide helpful customer service.

A consultation will be open until 15 February 2022 and the FCA?expects to confirm any final rules?by the end of July 2022.

Sheldon Mills, Executive Director of Consumers and Competition at the FCA, said:

‘Making good financial decisions is vital to financial well-being and trust, but too often consumers are not given the information they need to make good decisions and are sold products or services that do not offer the benefits they might expect. We want to change that.

‘We’ve been working to set a higher standard for firms, to put more of the onus on them to act in their customers’ interests and get their products and services right.’

Internet link: FCA website

More than 440,000 small firms could be forced out of business by the late payment crisis, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

An FSB study of more than 1,200 business owners found that close to one in three has seen late payment of invoices increase over the last three months, with a further 8% experiencing other forms of poor payment practice.

As a result, 8% of small businesses say late payments are now threatening the viability of their business. This equates to 440,000 of the estimated 5.5 million small businesses in the UK.

FSB National Chairman, Mike Cherry, said:

‘After another frustrating festive season, small firms are facing flashpoint after flashpoint. Today, it’s a fresh wave of admin for importers and exporters – in three months’ time it will be a hike to the jobs tax that is national insurance contributions, a rise in dividend taxation, business rates bills and an increase in the national living wage.

‘On top of that, operating costs are surging – many will soon be trying to strike energy deals without the clout of big corporates, or the protections afforded to consumers.’

Internet link: FSB press release