‘Kick-start’ the Economy in the wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic

This afternoon, Rishi Sunak announced a series of measures to ‘kick-start’ the economy in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.

A summary of the key announcements include:

• VAT – VAT on food, accommodation and tourism will be cut temporarily from the current rate of 20% to 5%.
• Eat Out To Help Out – Every individual in the UK will be given an ‘eat out to help out’ discount. Meals at participating restaurants will be 50% off up to £10 per head. This will apply Monday to Wednesday throughout the month of August.
• Stamp Duty Land Tax – Homebuyers will be exempt from paying stamp duty land tax on the first £500,000 of a property price. This is effective immediately and will run until 31 March 2021.
• Job Retention Bonus – Businesses will be paid a £1,000 job retention bonus for each worker that is brought back to work and remains employed until 31 January 2021.
• Kickstart Scheme – A new £2 billion scheme has been unveiled to subsidise jobs for unemployed young people. Employers will be able to offer six month placements for 16 to 24 year olds and the government will reimburse 100% of the National Minimum Wage up to 25 hours per week. Employers will be able to top up the worker’s pay and receive a £1,000 admin fee.
• Apprenticeships and Traineeships – Businesses will be offered up to £2,000 for every new apprentice and £1,000 to take on new trainees.
• Green Investment – Homeowners will be provided with £5,000 vouchers to make their homes more environmentally friendly. The vouchers will be increased to £10,000 for some of the poorest families.

We expect further details for each announcement to be released shortly.