Self-employment Income Support Scheme

(asked on 20th April 2020) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will enable people have become self-employed recently to submit their income tax self assessment tax return for 2019-20 to allow them to participate in the self-employed income support scheme due to loss of income caused by the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Jesse Norman Portrait
Jesse Norman
This question was answered on 28th April 2020

It has not been possible to include those who began trading after the 2018-19 tax year in the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. This was a very difficult decision and it was taken for practical reasons. It is correct that individuals can now submit Income Tax Self Assessment returns for 2019-20, but there would be significant risks for the public purse if the Government relied on these returns for the scheme. HMRC would not be able to distinguish genuine self-employed individuals who started trading in 2019-20 from fake applications by fraudulent operators and organised criminal gangs seeking to exploit the SEISS. The Government cannot expose the tax system to these risks.

However, those who entered self-employment after April 2019 may still be eligible for other support. For example, the self-employed can benefit from the Government’s relaxation of the earnings rules (known as the Minimum Income Floor) in Universal Credit. Individuals may also have access to a range of grants and loans depending on their circumstances, including 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/.

Reticulating Splines