PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Sole Traders: Coronavirus (15 May 2020)

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Government support for self-employed people who are structured as a one-person limited company and receive income through an annual payroll near the end of the tax year, and are therefore ineligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Asked by:
Nadia Whittome (Labour)

For an employee, including self-employed people who have a one-person limited company, to be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, they must have been notified to HMRC on a real-time information (RTI) submission on or before 19 March.

Those paid annually are eligible to claim, as long as they meet the relevant conditions, including being notified to HMRC on an RTI submission on or before 19 March 2020 which relates to a payment of earnings in the 19/20 tax year. Anyone paid annually and notified on an RTI submission after that date will not be eligible for the scheme, as is the case for those who are paid more frequently and were not notified to HMRC on or before 19 March.

This scheme supplements the other significant support announced for UK businesses, including the Bounce Back Loans Scheme for small businesses, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the deferral of tax payments. More information about the full range of business support measures is available at www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support/.

Answered by:
Jesse Norman (Conservative)
20 May 2020