Self-employment Income Support Scheme

(asked on 18th June 2020) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of enabling information from the 2019-20 financial year tax return only to be used for eligibility for the Self-employment Income Support Scheme in (a) the hospitality sector and (b) other sectors of the economy that are unable to reopen in a timely manner as the covid-19 restrictions are eased.


Answered by
Jesse Norman Portrait
Jesse Norman
This question was answered on 23rd June 2020

There would be significant risks for the public purse if the Government relied on 2019-20 returns for the SEISS, as this would create an opportunity for fraudulent activity through the manipulation of trading profit figures. The Government cannot expose the tax system to these risks.

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) continues to be one of the most generous self-employed COVID-19 support schemes in the world as the economy reopens.

The SEISS is one element of the unprecedented financial support provided by the Government. This support includes Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support,?increased levels of Universal Credit, mortgage holidays, and other business support grants.

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