Most political analysts appear to agree that the growing disruption caused by the Coronavirus outbreak combined with continuing Brexit uncertainty are likely to impact demand and supply. A combination that may well result in a slow-down in global economic activity.
Budget 2020 And SME’s
It seems unlikely that the Budget announcements this week will do much to completely calm the feats currently in the minds of small business owners. With the government under increasing pressure to announce plans on how the deal with not only the day-to-day problems posed by the virus to business, but also to plan for a potential spread of illness throughout the country even further without any obvious sign of it slowing down.
There are concerns about the cost of meeting sick-pay obligations as increasing numbers of employees are forced to self-isolate in response to government advice in a bid to contain the spread of the virus. This potential, and dramatic, increase in costs have led some to ask whether business owners will be offered more time to pay their taxes.
Will Business Owners Get Their Wish?
As the outbreak in the UK remains at an early stage, we should expect a staged approach to business support from the government. It is possible that the government will have to print money – so-called quantitative easing – to cover the funding support required by the UK business community. This is the method used during the banking crisis of 2008 but isn’t what this Conservative government will have wanted to have to implement at this particular moment in time.
If you have concerns about how your business operations may be affected due to the virus, contact us today.
The Coronavirus poses a significant challenge for all of us and, in particular, the survival of a huge number of a small and medium sized business in the UK, the backbone and engine room of our UK economy. The task is now for the recently-appointed Rishi Sunak and his Treasury advisors to come up with adequate support this week to both answer business owners’ questions and calm their fears.
