Taxi Driver Online

Maybe rates bill not in his name

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

Rates bill is in the trading name and my name as are the bank accounts etc. that shouldn't have made any difference. What appears to have happened is that they have decided my claim might be fraudulent and are investigating it thoroughly

Also talking to many other local drivers they all submit much lower profit figures than mine so my "offer" was above average for local drivers and this "might" also be a factor

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

I have now been told I am getting the money today and it has not been reduced

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Well done, I bet that’s a relief.

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IDFIMH

All they ask is if your intending to continue trading in the 20-21 tax year.....i saw no mention of drawing on a Pension.

Excellent news

A pension is classed as income so if the value of the pension is greater than the declared profit from self employment then you don't qualify.

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Grandad,

This is what I said from the outset,that was why they stated I was ineligible for any help on day 1 of the scheme opening.

No, I think it's the self-employment grant

Actually, I'm just assuming it's that rather than the rates relief or the bounce back loan, but who knows?

But well done Edders for getting the, er, money

According to this Boris wants to extend the scheme, but the chancellor not so keen.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11680960/ ... state-aid/

And apparently the chancellor wasn't keen on the scheme in the first place anyway.

But it looks as if Boris might get his way, but Rishi Sunak wants just a two month extension, but only if you've no income.

So I strongly suspect there will be an extension, but maybe not for as long as the furlough scheme, and the criteria will be tightened up.

But who knows what that form will take, especially for things like taxi driving. I'd certainly not work if it meant getting another grant, because the chances of me earning anything near the grant figure in the next couple of months is effectively zero, especially with the lockdown likely to go on a bit longer in Scotland and the local trade here so dependent on tourists, students, and restaurants and pubs. And even that's ignoring the health risks.

But suppose some drivers are making half their normal income. At present they can claim the grant, but might not be able to under an extension. In which case they probably wouldn't work at all, and then it all gets very messy.

Or HMRC might want a bit more in terms of proof as regards how Covid-19 is affecting your income, which comes back to what I was banging on about weeks ago

Of course, they might just leave that aspect as it is, and instead maybe take more account of any other income. So even if you have a pension or PAYE income that's lower than your taxi income, that might be taken into account, while at the moment it isn't, unless it's more than your taxi income.

Or they could maybe lower the percentage of profits given from 80% to a lower figure.

Or maybe lower the maximum grant from £2,500 per month. Which would suit me, and even if they reduced it to £1,500 or even halved it to £1,250, it wouldn't affect my grant Of course, if you're a higher earner, and have just gotten £2,000/month or more as a grant, you obviously don't want the cap reduced.

But it's this kind of complexity and the politics of it all that's probably why it's taken so long to agree on something.

But Mr Sunak has never completely ruled out an extension, which is why I've always thought there would be one, even if it's not nearly as generous as the current scheme.

But he's obviously unimpressed that some people are still coining it in and getting the grant as well

based on local experience it is a very small minority "coining it in". I think almost every sole trader and small business has suffered as fewer people getting work done on cars,houses,shopping etc.

Only businesses involved in deliveries are busy and that might well taper off as people's finances become more stretched

I think the problem lies in the vast army of pseudo self employed who are contributing little to government revenues

It is a very telling fact that 2 million applied for the self employed scheme out of 5 million "self employed"

that is a large discrepancy maybe because self employment is being abused as a tax avoidance scheme so I can understand his reluctance to help

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

I am not convinced the taxi trade Is the sector That Sunak is worried About still coining it in, I think its more the Big number of Construction workers who are all going back to something like normal operations As of next month who maybe won’t need On going support, it’s going to have to be targeted In some way

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IDFIMH

Indeed, and (for the record) I didn't say that the chancellor might have the taxi trade in mind.

But some people no doubt doing well out of it. A relative of mine works in food retail, and has seen record takings in last few weeks.

So if you're a sole trader or in a partnership in food, you could be very profitable yet claiming another 80% of profits via the grant scheme.

Of course, if you're doing better than usual then strictly speaking you shouldn't be claiming, but in a mainly cash business like a corner shop or small independent chain, there's no doubt scope for hiding the true picture.

And even if you've only lost 5% profits (say), then you're eligible because you're affected by Covid-19, so you're coining it in as well - if you're eligible you get the whole grant, whether you've lost 5% profits, or are totally wiped out.

And, as I said weeks ago, even if you're 5% down, how do you know if that's because of Covid-19 or due to normal factors?

And how do you prove that to HMRC if they ask? Could be difficult for corner shops (say). Although HMRC unlikely to look into all but a small number of cases.

Which is probably why chancellor not keen, because it's open to abuse, and in vast majority of cases not really a lot HMRC can do about it.

Of course, in other sectors, like barbers and hairdressers, it's pretty self-evident, because it's illegal for them to work.

So, as you say, if there's any extension, it's likely to be more restricted than at present.

But lots of complexity and difficult political questions, so that's probably why it's all taking so long.