Parliament debates lack of COVID-19 financial aid for small limited companies

The petition was started to shine a spotlight on the millions of small limited companies that typically pay themselves through a mixture of PAYE and company dividends. This demographic has been ineligible for fiscal support through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

The campaign has now secured the necessary 100,000 signatures to ensure that freelancers and directors of small companies get their voices heard in front of MPs from both sides of the house.

A ‘general debate’ on Thursday 17th September saw MPs discuss the support measures for the self-employed and freelance workers during the coronavirus crisis.

Small limited companies are the front line of the UK economy as part of the 5.82 million SMEs in Britain’s private sector, which account for 99% of the nation’s business population and 50% of all business turnover.

Without any financial support for these forgotten small limited companies, tens of thousands of jobs could be lost through no fault of the business owners themselves.

Daren Moore FCCA, Group Commercial Director, TaxAssist Accountants, said: “It’s as though the Government sees these forgotten 5% as undeserving of financial support as they must be rich enough already.

“They are not, and they have all been affected by the coronavirus outbreak and are being asked to borrow money instead of receive a grant or a real option to receive furlough payments.”

With 71% of directors of small limited companies voicing their concerns over their eligibility for funding in the COVID-19 Business Impact Survey which saw TaxAssist Accountants survey their 77,000 client base, the #ForgottenLtd movement will have its collective fingers crossed that a sensible solution can be found by the Government in the coming days.

Date published 15 Sep 2020 | Last updated 7 Oct 2020