The long-anticipated spring budget has been released. On the back of an interest rate-drop, COVID-19 and only a few weeks after Rishi Sunak stepped up to the plate it’s certainly an interesting one!

It’s not surprising that measures are being taken to offer support in the light of the outbreak of COVID-19. There is the promise of a robust response including: a £5 billion emergency response fund for the NHS; and financial support for small businesses to weather the storm in the form of business interruption loans and refunds for statutory sick payments for two weeks.

There is a drive towards investment in infrastructure and further support for businesses in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors through the abolition of business rates if they have a rateable value of less than £51,000.00.

However, one of the most contentions decisions will be the change in Entrepreneurs Relief, reducing the lifetime allowance from £10,000,000.00 to £1,000,000.00. This is sure to have an impact on many SMEs and entrepreneurs who relied on this relief!

Other changes announced concerned employment law:

• Statutory Sick Pay is now available for all employees advised to self-isolate, even if they do not have symptoms.
• For all businesses with fewer than 250 employees, the Government will fund Statutory sick pay for two weeks (a cost of up to £2 billion) to encourage self-isolation.
• The Living Wage (already increasing on 1st April 2020 from £8.21 to £8.72) will represent two thirds of the median wage by 2024, a projected figure of £10.50 per hour.
• National Insurance Contributions will be raised from £8,632.00 to £9,500.00, a tax cut for 31 million saving a typical employee £104 a year.

For more information, you can find highlights of the key points on BBC’s website