Yesterday I highlighted that those who have become self employed since April 2019 will not qualify for the grant of up to £2500 a month. The Chancellor said they would need to claim universal credit if their income collapses. But this is not much of a...
safety net for those who have been doing the sensible prudent thing by putting to one side a portion of earnings to pay tax and NI at the end of the year. Because this cash is counted as “savings”. And Universal Credit reduces for those with savings between £6000 and...
£16,000, at which level of savings there is no eligibility for UC. So there is a double indignity for the newly self employed (and remember most of these are not remotely wealthy). They are not part of the bailout announced yesterday. And they are being forced to...
run down their savings, so risk being unable to pay their tax bills next January and June, for what they’ve earned in the tax year that ends in a few weeks. This does seem a grotesque and unfair anomaly, that may well cause hardship and serious anxiety to tens of thousands.
