Covid-19

We have been closely monitoring the developing Covid-19 outbreak and want to share with you some reassurances about what CBSL Accountants are doing to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of our staff and clients with minimum disruption to the delivery of our services at a time when we are aware that you need us most.

Our robust and secure IT infrastructure allows staff to work remotely which some have been doing over the last few days to good effect. We are communicating with clients and colleagues by phone, email and through online meeting platforms. This too has proved effective and while it clearly is not business as usual for anyone at the moment, we are confident that we can continue to support you. Our office remains open with a manned telephone line and we are open for the receipt and delivery of key documents and records in office hours. This will be kept under review as government guidance continues to change daily.

We have been following best practices since the first outbreak of the virus, with clear hygiene guidelines across the offices and a restricted number of face-to-face meetings but adhering to social distancing.

It is clear that the financial implications for almost all business and individuals will be very real and we want to reassure you that we are monitoring the government updates very carefully to ensure that we are in a position to guide you towards any available support.

Full details of yesterday’s unprecedented £350 billion support package will be released over the coming days and we will monitor closely with a view to liaising with you. Updated guidance can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-bus....

What we do know is:

1) Statutory sick pay (SSP) will begin from the first day that employees are required to self-isolate due to the Covid-19 outbreak. It is currently set at £94.25 per week for eligible staff. Employers with under 250 employees are able to recover this SSP in full.

2) A government backed “Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan” scheme is being rolled out over the coming weeks. Loan applications will still need to go through your bank and with a significant demand expected on this scheme, we would advise all businesses to contact us if they would like assistance in preparing the budgets and forecasts that will be necessary to accompany any loan application. The government have confirmed that charities are eligible but only if at least 50% of their income is generated from trading activities.

3) Certain rates reliefs (full guidance of which is due to be released on Friday) including

a. a 12-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England.

b. small business grant funding of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief.

c. grant funding of £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000.

4) If you are having difficulty paying your tax on time as a result of the outbreak, HMRC have set up a special helpline for help and advice – 0800 0159559. We expect lengthy delays due to high demand so please be patient but HMRC will discuss your specific circumstances and will consider:

a. agreeing an instalment arrangement.

b. suspending debt collection proceeding.

c. cancelling penalties and interest where you have administrative difficulties contacting or paying HMRC immediately.

We would like to wish you, your families and your staff well during these difficult times and will do all that we can to support you.