Bank of England announces £100 billion stimulus package for UK economy.

The Bank of England has unveiled a £100 billion stimulus package to help boost the UK economy following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to step up its quantitative easing programme, through which the Bank purchases bonds. The £100 billion in additional quantitative easing funds takes the total to £745 billion. The MPC also voted to cut the cost of borrowing to a record low of 0.1%. The Committee admitted it is ‘hard to draw…

HMRC has published guidance on recognising genuine contact from the tax authority during the COVID-19 pandemic. HMRC recently sent text alerts to millions of mobile users regarding COVID-19. The SMS told people to stay at home in order to help prevent the spread of the virus. However, criminals have been taking advantage of the situation and are spoofing official government phone numbers in order to send scam text messages. The messages attempt to convince individuals to pay fines after being…

Businesses that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and are seeking to make use of the VAT deferral have been urged to cancel their direct debits ‘as soon as they can’. Businesses are advised to contact their bank to cancel their direct debits as soon as possible. UK VAT-registered businesses with a VAT payment due between 20 March 2020 and 30 June 2020 have the option to either defer the payment until a later date or pay the VAT…

On the 26 March, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a scheme to help self-employed workers who have been hit by the COVID-19 crisis. Under the scheme the government will pay self-employed people a taxable grant based on an average of their earnings over the past three years. The grant will cover up to 80% of earnings up to a limit of £2,500 a month. To be eligible self-employed workers must have filed a tax return for the 2018/19 tax year and have average…

British banks must keep lending to businesses through the coronavirus crisis to ensure viable companies do not fail, the government and financial regulators have urged. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, and Chris Woolard, acting CEO of the Financial Conduct Authority have written to the CEOs of UK banks updating them on the COVID-19 situation and requesting they support the economy. The letter said: ‘This will require a willingness to maintain and extend…

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to cause major disruption to businesses, and the UK moves into lockdown, the government has responded with measures to mitigate damage to the economy. This is a fast-moving area and UK Government is publishing details of further measures. Below we set out a summary of the salary support and tax deferral schemes that were announced on 20 March 2020. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is available to all UK employers…

The government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme went live for applications from today (23 March). In the Budget, the Chancellor announced the implementation of the scheme, which will support the continued provision of finance to UK small and medium-sized (SME) businesses during the COVID-19 outbreak. Delivered by the British Business Bank, the scheme will temporarily replace the Bank’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme, with an additional £1 billion made available on top of existing support supplied via the programme. The government…

The UK economy is facing its worst recession in modern history after the coronavirus (COVID-19) caused a ‘sharp slowdown’, according to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey from data provider IHS Markit. The survey shows that UK business activity has fallen at a faster rate than at the height of the financial crisis in 2008. The decrease between February and March is the sharpest recorded by the survey since it began in 1998. The headline figure recorded by the…