MILLIONS of self-employed Brits will reportedly be offered grants of up to £7,500 in next week’s budget – but the scheme could be scrapped from May.
According to the Telegraph, the fourth round of grants handed out through the Self-Employment Income Scheme (SEISS) will cover February, March and April.
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Struggling self-employed workers who meet the criteria will be able to claim 80 per cent of average monthly profits up to a maximum of £2,500 a month.
However, the scheme could be drastically scaled back from May as the economy reopens, and the Prime Minister has said he is “confident” all restrictions can be scrapped by late June.
In place of the scheme, the Treasury could offer more targeted support to self-employed workers who can still not return to work from May, the Telegraph reports.
The SEISS has been in place since the first lockdown in March, and has so far given out three rounds of grants to workers whose income has been hit by the pandemic.
Last year, the Government confirmed that there would be a fourth SEISS grant to cover February to April – but ministers have not officially revealed any further details.
According to the government website, “details about the fourth grant will be announced on 3 March 2021” – the date the Chancellor unveils his Spring Budget.
It comes as Rishi Sunak prepares to unveil more economic support for Brits in his budget next Wednesday.
The Chancellor is also set to extend the stamp duty holiday until the end of June in a bid to boost the housing market, according to The Times.
The Treasury announced last year that it would temporarily raise the stamp duty threshold from £125,000 to £500,000 for property sales in England and Northern Ireland.
It will go alongside moves to extend furlough and other support measures such as the VAT cut and business rates holiday, which are also due to be extended until the economy can reopen.
