Nearly three quarters of people confused by government financial support for small businesses

At the end of last week, the Chancellor announced improvements to the winter support package to help small businesses struggling in the crisis. However, research from Tommys Tax app has revealed that nearly three quarters (73%) of people find the support from government ‘confusing’ and 85% say that the new package is still not enough.

On the Self Employed Business Support Group on Facebook, managed by Tommys Tax, many of the 11.5k small business owners in the group ranted about the new grant being a ‘disgrace’, as the support covered just 40% of their average monthly trading profits across three months, (with a limit of £3,750 in total), while many said they still weren’t eligible for any support at all.

With talks of tax rising by up to two or three percentage points soon, 55% of people thought they would really struggle to pay the extra costs, with 4% saying they would stop working completely as they could get more money on benefits.

Tommy McNally, Tax Expert and Founder of Tommys Tax says: “The new measures are welcomed as an improvement, but 40% still leaves the self-employed struggling to survive and too many (around a third) will be excluded due to the eligibility criteria. Small businesses and freelancers have seen their income drop dramatically during the pandemic. It’s a tough situation for everyone, but my clients believe they’re being treated unfairly compared to others. When you look at how little they’re still being offered, I have to agree with them.”

Tommys Tax was founded in 2015 and has since secured a total of £20 million in tax refunds for clients. They launched their free app in April 2020 and it so far has helped over 10,000 people. On average, they currently secure refunds of £3,000 for those on PAYE and £2,800 for the self-employed.

Tommy concluded: “It’s great that the government is helping small businesses but with the prospect of a rise in tax, they need to do more or we’re going to see a huge number of small businesses closing for good, which is not only bad for the economy, but devastating for individuals and their families who have worked so hard over the years.”

Tommys Tax App gives business owners all the tools they need to manage their finances – including bookkeeping, invoicing, tax calculators and the ability to get a tax refund that can come within as little as 72 hours.