Today, Rishi Sunak presented his summer give away to the hospitality industry. As of 15th July, VAT, on pubs, restaurants, hotel accommodation and entertainment, will be reduced to 5% for six months. Also, the chancellor is giving all of us a chance to eat out in August (Monday to Wednesday) with a 50% saving on our bill of up to £10 per person.
The government has shown its determination to get us out of our houses and spend to save the jobs of millions.
The thrust of his statement was to keep people in employment and to offer hope of a future in employment to all young adults.
For those employers who bring any staff back to work who have been furloughed, he announced a job retention bonus of £1,000 per employee, if they are still employed by the end of this year.
Businesses will be paid a grant equivalent to the minimum wage for staff aged 16 to 24 who are employed for six months from August, limited to a maximum of 300,000 jobs.
For every young apprentice taken on in the next six months, the government will pay a grant of £2,000.
The Chancellor identified the housing sector as a key driver of our economy and announced an immediate increase in the Stamp Duty Land Tax exemption threshold from £125,000 to £500,000 on all home purchases from today until 31st March 2021.
Also, he will spend £2bn on subsidising home insulation for both homeowners and landlords, which will provide increased employment and help us move to a greener environment by a reduction in domestic CO2 emissions.
All of us are likely to benefit in some way from today’s statement but, for those of you who are employers, there will be regulations to follow and for the hospitality industry, a complete re-pricing to pass on the benefits of the VAT reduction. You will also need to consider how to update your book-keeping and VAT software to account for the reduced rate of 5% VAT.
We’re happy to advise on the above, please feel free to call us on 0161 832 4451 or drop us a line mail@jackross.co.uk.