The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has warned that genuine research and development (R&D) businesses could be impacted by government proposals to combat tax relief abuse.

In its consultation 'preventing abuse of the R&D tax relief for SMEs', the government stated that it aims to reduce the number of fraudulent claims for R&D relief and specifically target individuals exploiting the tax repayment available.

The proposed measures will limit claims for a payable R&D credit by reference to a claimant's Pay as You Earn (PAYE) liabilities.

The ICAEW stated that it is concerned that some of the proposed measures may increase the administrative burdens on businesses that comply, and potentially preclude genuine claims.

The ICAEW said it welcomes HMRC's proposal that claims under £20,000 will not be affected by the R&D credit cap. According to the ICAEW, this will help to 'mitigate the impact of the proposals significantly'.

However, the ICAEW stressed that it is unclear how this measure will prevent larger volumes of lower value fraudulent claims.

HMRC's consultation on the scope of R&D expenditure closes on 13 October.

Over £30 million has been lost to pension scams since 2017, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR).

£30,857,329 in pension savings has been lost to scammers since 2017, data published by the FCA and the TPR revealed. Reported losses ranged from under £1,000 to as much as £500,000. The average victim was a man in his 50s, the FCA and the TPR found.

65% of pension savers said they felt confident they could spot a scam. However, four in ten would put themselves at risk unknowingly by engaging with a common scam tactic such as being told it's a time-sensitive offer.

The FCA and the TPR have advised savers not to be pressured into making any decisions about their pensions, and to reject unexpected pension offers, whether these are made online, via social media or over the phone.

'During these uncertain times, it is more important than ever to defend your lifetime savings from scammers,' said Mark Steward, Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA.

'Fraudsters will seek out every opportunity to exploit innocent people, no matter how much or how little you have saved.'

Small firms have urged the government to extend its Eat Out to Help Out scheme in order to continue helping thousands of small food and drink businesses across the UK.

The scheme was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the Summer Economic Update, and started at the beginning of August. It is currently set to come to an end on 31 August.

Eat Out to Help Out provides a 50% reduction for sit-down meals in participating cafes, restaurants and pubs across the UK from Monday to Wednesday. So far, more than 64 million meals have been claimed since the launch of the scheme.

Commenting on the issue, Mike Cherry, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said: 'The Eat Out to Help Out scheme has been an overwhelming success in getting people back on their high streets and in their town centres. We now need to see it extended to continue the critical support that it is providing for small firms as we enter a period of economic make or break.

'A nationwide one-month extension would go some way to helping many firms which are still only just about managing in this time of crisis.'

Small businesses in England are set to benefit from an additional £20 million in funding to help them recover from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The government recently announced that small and medium-sized businesses will have access to grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 to help them recover from the effects of the pandemic.

The funding will allow businesses to access new technology as well as professional, financial and legal advice to help them get back on track.

The grants will be fully funded by the government, and there will be no obligation for businesses to contribute financially.

Commenting on the funding, Simon Clarke, Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government, said: 'We have always said that we would stand behind our businesses and communities as we rebuild following the COVID-19 pandemic. This new funding does exactly that.

'Businesses will be able to use these new grants to pay for the expertise, equipment and technology they need to adapt, recover and build.'

HMRC has blocked thousands of applications for the government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) due to fears they are fraudulent.

More than 30,000 CJRS applications have been rejected by HMRC, according to reports. At the end of June, 1,526 CJRS claims were rejected because the companies applying had ceased trading.

An additional 23,899 applications were rejected because businesses didn't have any employees on their payroll for the 2019/20 tax year.

HMRC reportedly believes many applications are fraudulent, and has taken steps to block claims.

The CJRS has provided £35.4 billion in support for 9.6 million jobs. It is being gradually wound down and will end in October, to be replaced by a Job Retention Bonus. This will see UK employers receive a one-off payment of £1,000 for each furloughed employee who is still employed as of 31 January 2021.

To qualify for the payment, the employee must be paid at least £520 on average in each month from November to January. Payments will be made from February 2021.

The Treasury has published plans for a carbon emissions tax, which could be introduced if the UK fails to secure a Brexit deal with the EU.

A consultation published by the Treasury sets out how the Carbon Emissions Tax would operate if it was introduced from 1 January 2021. The consultation also outlines how the tax might be developed.

Under the new Carbon Emissions Tax, installations currently in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) whose emissions exceed their annual tax emission allowance would be liable to pay the tax on their emissions from 1 January 2021.

The consultation states that, as outlined in the UK's Approach to Negotiations Brexit document, the UK would be 'open to considering a link between any future UK ETS and the EU ETS'. If a link cannot be established, the UK will implement either an unlinked UK ETS or the Carbon Emissions Tax from 1 January.

The consultation is open to individuals and organisations, and closes on 29 September 2020.

The latest Coronavirus Business Tracker from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has suggested that UK businesses are vulnerable as government support schemes begin to wind down.

According to the BCC, firms are still reporting high levels of reliance on government coronavirus (COVID-19) support schemes to 'help stem cashflow issues'.

38% of businesses stated that they have three months or less worth of cash in reserve. However, 38% of firms reported improved revenue from UK clients, a rise from the previous tracker's figure of 34%.

The BCC said that, with government support schemes set to wind down in the coming weeks, it 'remains unclear' what further support, if any, firms will receive.

'While some firms are seeing improvements in trading conditions, we are still very much in the eye of the storm, with further turbulence ahead,' said Adam Marshall, Director General of the BCC.

'As the government's emergency measures begin to wind down over the coming weeks, and with the prospect of further local lockdowns still very real, businesses across the UK are going to need further support to weather uncertainty over the coming months.'

A survey carried out by Purbeck Insurance Services has revealed that 29% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) carried on business as usual during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

29% of SMEs carried on with no assistance from the government, according to the survey. 31% reported that they were confident about their job prospects and 17% described themselves as very confident in regard to job security.

80% of employees surveyed said that their manager was transparent about how their business was coping financially during the pandemic.

Commenting on the survey, Todd Davison, Managing Director of Purbeck Insurance Services, said: 'Based on our survey, one in five owners and directors of SMEs are shouldering huge personal financial risk because they have put their home and other personal assets on the line for a business loan by providing a personal guarantee to the lender.

'If SME owners start to look round for finance independent of any government support it is vital they look at the ways they can mitigate the risk of a personal guarantee-backed loan as the options outside of this type of loan could become quite limited.'

The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) has warned that a 'disproportionate and disturbing' decrease in the number of self-employed individuals will lead to a 'brittle workforce'.

IPSE's warning came following the publication of data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which showed that the number of self-employed individuals fell by a record 238,000 in the second quarter of 2020.

IPSE blamed the decrease on gaps in government support for the self-employed during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic compared to more comprehensive support for employees.

Additionally, quarterly incomes for the self-employed have dropped by 25% following a reduction in the amount of work available to self-employed individuals.

Commenting on the matter, Derek Cribb, CEO of IPSE, said: 'In the second quarter of 2020, there was a disproportionate and disturbing slump in the number of self-employed in the UK – far more than among employees.

'Going into a recession, we would normally expect a jump not a slump in the number of self-employed, as businesses look to the flexible expertise they offer. However, with government policy driving down the number of self-employed, there is a real fear the UK workforce will become brittle and rigid just when it needs to be at its most agile.'