[G Griffin]

You can't accept Christmas tips and claim the grant.

[NWH]

It’s the people that employ and furlough workers they will keep an eye on. 👍

[G Griffin]

Full details about eligibility and how to claim from the 23rd November.

[Bungle]

Two more grants on the way going as far as April 2021. Email from HMRC today.

Dear customer,

In light of the increased restrictions needed to curb the coronavirus pandemic, the UK Government is introducing additional economic measures to support you.

Latest changes that may impact you

Yesterday, 5‌‌‌ November 2020, the Chancellor announced that the UK Government is increasing the overall level of the next SEISS grant from 55% to 80% of trading profits.

This grant will cover a three-month period from the start of November until the end of January. The UK Government will pay a taxable grant which is based on 80% of three months’ average trading profits, paid out in a single instalment and capped at £7,500.

The SEISS Grant Extension will last for six months in total, from 1‌‌‌ November 2020 to 30‌‌‌ April 2021. A further grant will cover February to April, as grants will be paid in two lump sum instalments each covering a three-month period. The government will set out further details, including the level of that grant, in due course. Full details on checking if you’re eligible for the current grant and how to claim will be published on GOV.UK week commencing 23‌‌‌ November.

Protect yourself from scams

Stay vigilant about scams, which may mimic government messages as a way of appearing authentic. Search 'scams' on GOV‌‌.UK for information on how to recognise genuine HMRC contact. You can also forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk and texts to 6‌0599.

Access the National Cyber Security Centre’s new guide on how to stay secure online and protect yourself or your business against cyber crime by searching 'Cyber Aware' on GOV‌.UK.

Yours sincerely

[Stoots]

Fraud 🤣

Lying to HMRC and claiming money you are not entitled to is definitely fraud.

Never mind when they collar you, you can show them the laughing emoji and see how far that gets you.

😂

[G Griffin]

I think most fraud investigations will be about those who are not even self employed, and the like,  and not workers that are uncertain about the effect the virus has had on them.
It's for self employed people not just window cleaners.

[Mike Burd]

Who is going to prove that you haven't been adversely affected?
HMRC doesn't even have a definition of 'adversely affected'. They can't say what it means so how are they going to prove that someone isn't adversely affected?

That's the problem with HMRC if they have no definition you have no argument!!!! The deck is stacked in HMRC favor! They are one Gov department that forces you to prove your innocence. Which without a definition of 'adversely affected' you can't do!
So be wary, very wary.

Shrek said 'if you haven't been adversely affected'. That's not the same as 'how have you been adversely affected?'
It's going to harder for them to prove anything when they are relying on us for their information.
There is nothing in Simon's post to say that he hasn't been adversely affected. I don't know how anyone can say that someone else hasn't been adversely affected.
Showing that you've been adversely affected is far easier than another party saying that you haven't.
I doubt many people will be challenged on this if they are reasonable with their reasons and information.

Unless it changed yesterday, the current term is "reduced demand". If your sales haven't gone down, you've not got reduced demand. Anyone claiming that hasn't experienced a drop in sales is claiming fraudulently in my opinion.

You just spent £10k on advertising didn't you? Did you get the demand you'd expect from that? If not then the demand is reduced.

I spent a lot more than that and got a better return than last year. Demand for me wasn’tdown. The only metric for demand is sales. If sales are up, demand is up. However you generate the demand.

[G Griffin]

Who is going to prove that you haven't been adversely affected?
HMRC doesn't even have a definition of 'adversely affected'. They can't say what it means so how are they going to prove that someone isn't adversely affected?

That's the problem with HMRC if they have no definition you have no argument!!!! The deck is stacked in HMRC favor! They are one Gov department that forces you to prove your innocence. Which without a definition of 'adversely affected' you can't do!
So be wary, very wary.

Shrek said 'if you haven't been adversely affected'. That's not the same as 'how have you been adversely affected?'
It's going to harder for them to prove anything when they are relying on us for their information.
There is nothing in Simon's post to say that he hasn't been adversely affected. I don't know how anyone can say that someone else hasn't been adversely affected.
Showing that you've been adversely affected is far easier than another party saying that you haven't.
I doubt many people will be challenged on this if they are reasonable with their reasons and information.

Unless it changed yesterday, the current term is "reduced demand". If your sales haven't gone down, you've not got reduced demand. Anyone claiming that hasn't experienced a drop in sales is claiming fraudulently in my opinion.

You just spent £10k on advertising didn't you? Did you get the demand you'd expect from that? If not then the demand is reduced.

I spent a lot more than that and got a better return than last year. Demand for me wasn’tdown. The only metric for demand is sales. If sales are up, demand is up. However you generate the demand.

That's not strictly true.
Demand could be through the roof but it doesn't have to be met.
What about the demand for tables in a restaurant that has restrictions?
And how are you measuring sales? Units? Income?
A window cleaner could have reduced demand and still have an increase in income if prices are increased.
We'll find out more about demand at the end of the month. I can't help thinking that some of the onus is being taken away from us.
We'll see......

[Mike Burd]

Who is going to prove that you haven't been adversely affected?
HMRC doesn't even have a definition of 'adversely affected'. They can't say what it means so how are they going to prove that someone isn't adversely affected?

That's the problem with HMRC if they have no definition you have no argument!!!! The deck is stacked in HMRC favor! They are one Gov department that forces you to prove your innocence. Which without a definition of 'adversely affected' you can't do!
So be wary, very wary.

Shrek said 'if you haven't been adversely affected'. That's not the same as 'how have you been adversely affected?'
It's going to harder for them to prove anything when they are relying on us for their information.
There is nothing in Simon's post to say that he hasn't been adversely affected. I don't know how anyone can say that someone else hasn't been adversely affected.
Showing that you've been adversely affected is far easier than another party saying that you haven't.
I doubt many people will be challenged on this if they are reasonable with their reasons and information.

Unless it changed yesterday, the current term is "reduced demand". If your sales haven't gone down, you've not got reduced demand. Anyone claiming that hasn't experienced a drop in sales is claiming fraudulently in my opinion.

You just spent £10k on advertising didn't you? Did you get the demand you'd expect from that? If not then the demand is reduced.

I spent a lot more than that and got a better return than last year. Demand for me wasn’tdown. The only metric for demand is sales. If sales are up, demand is up. However you generate the demand.

That's not strictly true.
Demand could be through the roof but it doesn't have to be met.
What about the demand for tables in a restaurant that has restrictions?
And how are you measuring sales? Units? Income?
A window cleaner could have reduced demand and still have an increase in income if prices are increased.
We'll find out more about demand at the end of the month. I can't help thinking that some of the onus is being taken away from us.
We'll see......

All good and true points. Ultimately we all know whether our businesses have suffered or not. However if you’ve got more customers and sales are up I think you’d struggle to convince anyone that you’ve got reduced demand.