MP urges more help for the self employed
EAST Runcorn MP Mike Amesbury has welcomed moves by the Government to support the self-employed but said more needs to be done to provide clarity and support those who do not qualify.
The Chancellor announced a scheme last Thursday evening (March 26) which will pay a taxable grant of 80% of average annual profits over the last three years up to £2,500 per month.
The scheme will be open for at least three months, backdated to March 1, 2020, and will provide targeted support for self-employed workers with profits up to £50,000 per annum.
The scheme will be for those who earn most of their income from self-employment and have filed a tax return for 201819.
According to the Chancellor, 95% of self-employed bosses will benefit.
Those self-employed workers who have not yet submitted their tax return will have four weeks to do so.
It will be administered by HM Revenue And Customs and it is expected that businesses will be able to receive the grant in early June.
Mr Amesbury said: “I’ve been contacted by a huge number of constituents in the last couple of weeks who are self employed and are very concerned about how they’re going to stay in business and pay the bills.
“And while I’m pleased with these new measures, questions need to be answered about what’s being put in place to ensure some don’t slip between the cracks.
“There are also very justified concerns about the length of the wait, with support not due to kick in until June.”
The Weaver Vale MP has tabled a number of urgent questions to ministers in response to points raised by constituents, particularly calling for answers on the issue of the June wait, the need for three years’ tax returns, and the cut off of £50,000 earnings being a sheer cutoff point, rather than tapered.
He added: “The Government has advised that people claim benefits in the meantime, but the queues for that are well into the hundreds of thousands.
“These are difficult times, everyone understands that, but we simply must put more support in place for these people and quickly.”