Budget 2021: ‘Restart Grants’ for retailers, business rates holiday extended

Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled his budget for 2021 on Wednesday, which included more support to help retailers ride out the pandemic.

The 100 percent business rates holiday introduced last year has been extended until the end of June. After that, a discount of up to two-thirds will be available for nine months.

The government said it has extended the country’s furlough scheme until the end of September, and that support for the self-employed has been expanded.

New retail grants

Sunak also revealed new ‘Restart Grants’ of up to 6,000 pounds will be available for non-essential retailers from April to help them reopen.

A new UK-wide Recovery Loan Scheme will make available loans between 25,001 pounds and 10 million pounds for businesses of all sizes. It will replace the previous Bounce Back Loan (BBL) and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

Corporation tax will rise from 19 percent to 25 percent in 2023. However, small businesses will be protected from the increase.

Companies with profits of 50,000 pounds or less will continue to be taxed at 19 percent and a taper above 50,000 pounds will be introduced so only businesses with profits greater than 250,000 pounds will be taxed at the full 25 percent rate.

The minimum wage will also increase to 8.91 pounds an hour from April.

There will also be an extension of the apprenticeship hiring incentive in England to September 2021 and an increase of payment to 3,000 pounds.

Sunak said the economy is forecast to return to pre-Covid levels by mid-2022.

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