Business Owners Support Scheme (BOSS) could be a solution for small business owners who fall through the Chancellor’s net

The RT Hon Rishi Sunak MP, Chancellor of Exchequer, delivered his Winter Economy Plan in the House of Commons on the 24 September 2020 which rightly aims to protect jobs, support businesses, and help the economy. He has since updated his support in light of the second wave in response to the restrictions that are being imposed in high risk areas.

As a local chartered accountancy firm who specialise in delivery services to the SME sector, we are very concerned about the plight of small business owners in our locality.

Uk200 Group Business Owners Support Scheme September 2020

The Chancellor’s positive intentions and the raft of measures he has introduced, including the new Job Support Scheme (JSS) and the extension of the Self Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) and support to pay back loans will help many businesses. We are very aware however, that the Chancellor also stated that the government ‘cannot help everyone’.

Whilst the Government support net does spread very widely, there are some gaping holes, and this is where our concern lies. The Chancellor’s measures still do not support the large number of workers who are not employees but who also fail to qualify for SEISS: for example start-up businesses, company directors, freelancers, and unconventional businesses such as holiday lets. In short, people who own their own businesses, whether through a limited company or otherwise. We all know that these people are key to the economy’s success - not least due to their entrepreneurial and enterprising spirit, which is at risk of waning due to the current situation.

Forrester Boyd are a member of a national association of chartered accountancy and law firms called the UK200Group, who collectively represent over 150,000 SMEs. As a national group we have developed a scheme that could extend relief to those workers who are currently unsupported. Known to us simply as ‘BOSS’, this scheme complements and completes the work done by SEISS, The key points of BOSS are as follows:

• It’s universal – it applies to anyone that runs their own business
• It’s fair – it treats everyone the same, with no surprises
• It’s simple – it uses the same information you need for tax returns

Read a summary of BOSS scheme here.

What we need to do now is share this scheme proposal with influencers and MPs to ensure it has the chance to reach the Chancellor for consideration. If this scheme was developed it would help the Chancellor to save more jobs, support more businesses and ultimately contribute to the wider recovery. It would also serve to help this group of people who have not received any support in the current crisis thus far.

Many businesses will resonate with this scheme so please do share with your connections and on your social channels and let’s try to ensure no-one falls through the gaps.