Small Business Saturday
I had a fantastic day this Saturday visiting a number of fantastic small businesses across the constituency with the Federation of Small Businesses.
I popped in to see Chambers Bespoke Tailors, Wimbledon Village Stables, Room Remedies and Liza Buck-Harding of Wimbledon Lifestyle Clinic to talk to them about their experiences of running a small business in Wimbledon.
I know from talking to and surveying businesses locally that they would appreciate more support from Merton Council, particularly in terms of parking, dirty streets, and have an overall a feeling that the Council is not engaging enough with businesses. I will continue to press Merton Council on these issues for businesses.
Business Rate Relief
Many businesses reported that business rates are a problem for them. So, I am pleased that the Chancellor last week made the decision to extend small business rate relief. This scheme benefits 600,000 small businesses nationally by either reducing their business rates or making them completely exempt from paying them.
Businesses can claim business rates relief if they use one property and their rateable value is less than £12,000, and businesses with a rateable value of under £6,000 are made exempt from business rates completely. If you are not benefiting from this, do contact Merton Council on [email protected] or 020 8545 3919.
If your property is valued at over £12,000 but under £25,500 in London, your business would not qualify for business rate relief. However, your rates will be calculated using the small business multiplier.
Employment Allowance
Employers can get up to £2,000 a year off National Insurance bill, thanks to the Government’s Employment Allowance. You can claim Employment Allowance if you are a business or charity paying employers’ Class 1 National Insurance.
I was concerned that 29% of businesses that took the survey did not know about the Employment Allowance. I will send these businesses details and do more to spread awareness of this policy.
You can only claim against Class 1 National Insurance you have paid, up to a maximum of £2,000 each tax year. You can still claim the allowance if you pay less than £2,000 a year. To claim through payroll software, put yes in the Employment Allowance Indicator field when you send an Employment Payment Summary to HMRC. If you use HMRC’s Basic PAYE tools, select the employer, click change employer details, and select yes in the Employment Allowance indicator field.