Thiodeliverthefirstofwhatwehopewillbe a usefulSiri's FerrettileaderscooledClaireBarrettesBusinessClinic.
Now, thereasonthat I, asthepersonalfinanceeditordoingthisbecauselotsofreadersofFTMoneysectionliedintheFTobviouslyruntheirownbusinessesondhe.
I'm beinginundatedwithmessagesfromreaderswhoareconcernedthatthegovernmentsupportpackagesforbusinessesthistimearenotrecognizingalloftheentrepreneursandsmallbusinessesinBritainondhe, though, hopefullytoday's sessionwhichAikengetyourquestionsinteractivelythroughmyiPad, I'llbeabletorespondliveto a lotofyourconcerns.
Andifit's a questionthat I don't knowtheanswertothatstilllikeyoutoaskitbecausethatwouldreallyhelptoinformtheFTCfuturecoverageoffthishighly, highlyimportantarea.
So I'llstartoffbysayinginsummaryovertheweekend.
I havehadliterallyhundredsof e mails, bothtomypersonalemailaddress.
ClaireDoorBarracksatftdotcom.
OntothemoneyinboxmoneyatftdotcomFromreaderswhoareabsolutelyin a quandaryaboutwhatthey'regoingtodowiththeirbusinesses, many, manypeopledonotqualifyfortheselfemployedpackageofmeasureswhichthegovernmentputoutonThursdaybecausetheyaretheownerdirectorsoff a limitedcompany.
Nowthere's been a hugeamountofangerexpressedtomefromreaderswhosay I havegottohave a limitedcompanysetupwithmyaccountantbecauseif I didn't havethat, I wouldn't beabletogetwork.
Thisistheonethatappliesto P a y n e employees, becausemostpeople, whentheysetup a limitedcompany, willreceive a nominalsumnormallyaroundsevenor £800 a month, Um, through P a y e tothemselvesas a director, andthentheywillreceivethebulkoftheirincome.
ButRoxyisvariableas a taxabledividendnow, althoughyouwon't beabletoclaimundertheselfemployedscheme, itispossible, theTreasurysay, forsoleownerdirectorstoapplyingtoefurloughthemselvesthroughthejob's protectionscheme, andthentheywouldreceive 80% ofthe P A y e elementoftheirincomethrewforthreemonths.
Butthecatchtoethat, asmanyreadershavealsonoticed, isthatifyouFurlowyourselfon P A y e in, technicallyyou'renotsupposedtobedoinganywork.
Sothatis a bigdifferencebetweentheseaschemesdoesn't quiteevenoutnow.
I had a reallygreatcommentovertheweekendfrom a WhatsAppgroupthat I joinedforthedirectorsoflimitedcompanies, who, asyoucanimagineallbandingtogethertotryandloveyou, thegovernment, tobettersupporttheirneedsandtogetheroutinthemediaaboutwhypeoplewhoarerunninglimitedcompaniesneedstobeunderstood.
Now, ColinumsaysThisissueis a centuryquestionoffairness, theemployedandtheselfemployedofbeingcompensatedforthelossofpotentiallossofincomethroughforce, redundancyorlossofworkbythegovernmentthatthoserunninglimitedcompaniesarenot.
Why, simplybecauseourregularincomeisrecordedasdividendsandnot p A y e, butourincomeisonlyrecordedthiswaybecauseofdecisionsmadebythegovernment.
Noneofushaveengineered a situationwhereweneedfinancialassistancefromthegovernment, noronewherewe'retoldbyouraccountantsthatweshouldbepaidinthismanner.
Ifyouhave a limitedcompany, peoplemightthinkthatyou'requite a wealthyperson.
I certainlyneversomecommentsbythechancellorabouttheselfemployedwhowereleftoutofhisschemeatanaverageincome, maybeashighas £200,000 peryear, whichagainmanyreadershavebeenobjectingtoandtakingifyouwithandpoliticallycouldbeseentobetoomuchtobebailingoutpeoplewhohave a lotofmoney.
Buttherealityis, isthatlotsofpeoplewhoarerunningsmallbusinessesaretellingmethattheydon't have a lotofmoney.
A bigproblemforlotsofyouhasbeennegotiatingwithlandlordsaboutrentbillsthatdoworkingouthowthe p a waythefurloughsystemcouldworkforyourownstar, becausebusinessesaregonnahavetofundthatthemselvesfromnowuntiltheycanclaimback.
AnotheranomalythatChris, whohasemailedinitspointedout, says, Whyisitthatpeopleemployedin a companydonothave a capontheirincomesthesameastheselfemploymentWell, Chrisis a veryvalidpoint.
ThetermsoftheschemethatwerereleasedonThursdaybythechancellorwagglerecentlycompletedoesn't Sleepsaidthattheselfemployedprotectionschemecanonlybeappliedforifpeoplehave a tradingprofitaveragedoverthelastthreeyearslessthan £50,000 peryear.
Now, ifyouweresomebodywhowasbeingpaid a salaryandyouwantedtobefurloughedonthe P A y E scream, there's nocaponyourincome.
Theonlycaponbasegamesistolimitthepayoutsattwointhehole £1000 for a month.
So, unsurprisingly, lotsofFCreaderssomewhoareonlyverymarginallyoverthat 50,000 castlefortheselfemployed.
Alone, the 80 andtaxbillsandallotherlivingcostsexpensesthesameaseveryoneelse.
However, I'm nowbeingtreateddifferentlytomostotherworkingpeople.
Now I'm goingtoreadoutsomelinkswth e endofthisvideoThioThegovernmenthelpedwebsites, andso a newHMRCtaxhelplinenumberthat's beensetupbecause, ofcourse, oneofthemainavenuesopentobusinesseswhowerelookingtomanagetheircashflowisdeferringtaxpayments, whichissomethingthatthegovernmenthasofferedwithbothtimetopayontaxbillsondhe, deferringthenextlotofthe 80 receipts a CZwellasinformationonthegrants, which I canseeonhere.
Peopleareaskingfortheemailaddressforthegovernmentporcelain, which I will I shouldhavegoneonhere, and I'm brieflyreadout.
TheproblemforthecreatedindustriesisparticularlyacutebecausesoManyofthemhavebeenforcedintoworkinginthiswaythroughusinglimitedcompanies, whichismytheftwritethestorythismorning, particularlylookingathowpeopleworkinginfilmandTV a veryfearfulfortheirfuture.
Canwealsoheardfromlotsofpeoplewhorunlimitedcompaniesbecauseoftheprotectionthatbeing a limitedtraderinvolves.
Forexample, ifyou're a builderor a newelectrician's or a plumber, youmusthave a limitedcompanyratherbesometraderincasethere's anypossibilityofthenegligenceclaiminfuture.
I haveoneemailfrom a plumberoverthereturndate.
HaveitallmyiPad, unfortunatelysaying, I amtheretopeopleintimesofemergency.
I haveanothercommentherefromGreeceand 53 afterdotcomleaderwhosaysmywifecoin's a smallspeechtherapypracticemakesmetreatingyoungChildreninpersonorinschools.
Thegovernmentcouldbedoingassistanceitcouldbeconsideringon A lotofpeoplearesayingthatratherthanstartingthesenobodyintentionbutverycomplicatedschemesfromscratch, shouldthegovernmentbelookingat a simplersolutionmyuniversalincome.
Soinsteadoftryingtomanagebenefitssystem, selfemployedscheme P a y e scheme, gooduniversalincomebeaneasierandquickerwayofgettingpeoplethemoneytheyneed.
S O F t lookcalm, read a processsaystypicalUKbureaucracy, redtapeandcostscreatingwinnersandlosers.
Americaissimplygivingeveryone 1200 U S dollarchecksifthey'vebeenregisteredwiththetaxauthoritiessince 2018.
Itwillbe a lotcheaperifeveryBritishadultgets £1000 coma.
Hesays, I'vebeenselfemployedsince 1996 and I havesubmittedmyaccountsupto 2019.
InMay 2019 I wentdownthelimitedcompanyroomwithmywife.
Wegettaxthatsource.
Wedonotpayourselvesthree p a p a y e r menotentitledtoanyscheme.
Well, theywould.
I thinkthequestionforyouandyourcounterwillrelatetoyour 2018 19 taxreturn.
Nowyousaythatthatwasatthepointwhereyouwentinto a limitedcompanystructure.
Soifyou'restillworkingas a selfemployedperson, whichisoneoftheconditionsofHMRCscreen, it's possiblethattheywillthatumatyourpreviousaccountsandworkouttheaverageofthose.
Obviously, thepeopleyouhavechangeddenomination.
It's verydifficult.
I spoketosomebodyelseyesterdaywhowassayingtomethattheyhad a limitedcompany, buttheystillhad, um, someincomecomingthroughthepreviousarrangement.
Thisis a really, reallydifficultareabecauseobviouslyyouhave a partialtaxyearthathave a selfemployment, andthat's forthecrucialyearthatthatthey'relookingforsafe.
I wouldhavetosaythatyouwouldhavetogetprofessionaladviceonthat.
Onesolutionthat's beentoutedbyotherdirectorsislookingattheselfassessmentforms, whichpeoplesubmitiftheywanttoapplyfor a mortgage, forexample, theyhavetofillin a specialform, breakingdownthesourcesoftheirdividendincomeonsothatthemortgagelendercouldmake a decisionaboutwheretheirmoneyiscomingfromandwhatkindofcreditriskthey'regoingtobeinthefuture.
Sosomepeoplearesaying, Couldwenotusethingsforms?
I believethey'recalledessay.
That's a 302 Couldwenotusethoseformsto a partofthisnow?
Well, a reallygoodpointmoneyoncertainlyonethat's beenmadetomeovertheweekendbydifferentreadersindifferentways.
So a lotofpeoplearetellingmethattheydon't haveanyparticulardesiretoberegisteredas a limitedcompany, butbecauseofthenatureoftheworkthattheirdoings a freelancer, theyeitherhavetobein a limitedcompanylikeyou'retalkingaboutprofessionaltradespeople, builders, plumbers.
Wemustlimittheirliabilitiesorthey'rebeingtoldbythebig, biggerclientsthattheyworkforthattheyhavetobe a limitedcompanybeforetheycanengage.
I'veevenhadsomebodysemionWhat's app?
A pictureoff, Um, governmentprocurementorganizeagentsayingthatifyouwanttoworkforthatparticularroleofgovernment, youhavetobe a limitedcompany.
And a lotofthisisgoingbacktoissuesthathavebeenkindbubblingunderinthetaxsystemthat, youknow, morethanmorethan 10 yearswe'vegotthistensionoveroff.
Theywereworkingbyour 35 lotsofpeople.
Obviously, itsetsuplimitedcompaniesovertheyearsbecausethepressurehasbeenonbigcompaniestostickwithinthe i.
R 35 rulesandunfortunately, thedelaythatwe'vebeenreportingonseparatelyandintheafternoon.
Nowhowthetaxburdencouldshift a pointinthefuturewherepeopleareexpectedtopaythingsback.
Well, I think I'd liketousemytimeontheretopointouthowangry a lotofsmallbusinesspeoplearethatthereseemedtobe, insomewaycheatingthreeIkeataxsystembecauseoftheirsetup.
Obviously, ifyou'repaidas a directorthrough a limitedcompanyandyourperformingserviceisfor a biggercompanythanthatbigcompanyisn't payingemployersnationalinsurancecontributionsasitwouldbeifyouwereontheirpayroll.
Butthen I wouldstress, Let's thinkofthepeopleaspecttothisstory.
Ifyouare a freealso, goodnessknows, I'vebeencontactedbysomanypeople.
So I thinkthattheperceptionthattheselfemployedorsomehowusingthislimitedoncompanytaxstructuretoachievesomegreatadvantageeitherfinanciallyorthreetaxsystem, is a realMSmember.
Butthere's a lotofselfemployed.
Peoplehavedeniedthebenefitsthatpeoplewhoarepayingat P A y e systemofuniformlyreceiving, andthatis a verybigdifference.
I haveanotherquestionhere, cominginfromEdwardBishop, whoaskedClaire, Whatisyourviewonusingthebusinessinterruptionloanschemeas a meanstokeepyourcompanygoingtouseforthedaystaterunningofthecompany?
Well, thisisanissue, EdwardthatvariousMicahpolice, a guillotinegreetingdown, toldus, havebeenwritingaboutrecentlythebusinessinterruptionloanscheme.
ThisisadministeredbytheBritishbusinessback, butthey'recomingoutthemoneythiothebanksthatyouwouldnormally a breachthelanesduringyournormalcourseofbusiness.
Soifyouwanttoapplyfor a businessinterruptionloan, thenapproachthebankthatyou'rewithwithyourbusinessaccountthatthemayorthattheywouldbefirstpeopletogay t.
Nowtherehasbeen a bitthesleighstarttothescheme.
Lotsofcriticism, thatbankstuffwhowereworkingfromhomelikelike I amtodayslightlyaftertheyliedaboutthedetailsnowadays, asyouseemtobeovercome.
Lotsofreadershavebeenemailingthemoneydeskovertheweekendandsaying, I haveappliedforoneofthesebusinessinterruptionloansonmybankknewwhatitwassothat's goodthanksgettingthemessage.
Butmybankthenaskedmetofillout a businessplan, projectingwhatlyingcanbeforthenext 12 monthsandhowthebusinesswouldbegoingon.
Onereaderpointsout, youknow, I haven't got a crystalball.
Well, noneofushave.
ItdoesseemveryinCongresstohavetoemake a businessplaninordertogetthislanewhennoneofusreallyknowforsurewhenwenextgonnahaveincomecominginfrombusinesseswhichhavebeenputoniceorfailfurloughed.
Moneywhohavebeenabletokeeptheirbusinessisgoingthroughthecrisisbyturningaroundwhattheydo, switchingto a postaldeliverymethodorchanging a restaurantbusinessinto a takeaway.