Further coronavirus support announced in Budget 2021

In the House of Commons yesterday, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak unveiled the contents of the Budget 2021.

Setting out the government’s tax and spending plans for the year ahead, he announced new measures to help business and jobs through the pandemic and to support the UK’s long-term economic recovery and a series of tax-raising plans to help rebalance the public finances.

Here is an overview of the coronavirus support in the Budget 2021:

• The Coronavirus Job Support Scheme has been extended until the end of September.
• The government will continue to pay 80% of employees’ wages for hours they cannot work.
• Employers will contribute 10% of wages in July and 20% in August and September.
• Support for the self-employed is also extended until September.
• 600,000 more self-employed people will be eligible for help as access to grants is widened.
• £20 weekly uplift in Universal Credit worth £1,000 a year to be extended for another six months.
• Working Tax Credit claimants will get £500 one-off payment.
• Minimum wage to increase to £8.91 an hour from April.

This further support rises the spending total for pandemic support to £407bn. To compensate he announced a rise in corporation tax from 19% to 25%, to be introduced in 2023, and froze income tax personal allowance thresholds until 2026.