Prime minister David Cameron has said the government is to offer a tax deferral scheme for businesses affected by the recent heavy flooding across the UK, as part of a package of initiatives designed to help local economies recover from the disruption caused by the bad weather of the last two months
Speaking at a conference at Number 10 yesterday summarising the government’s response to the severe floods, Cameron said: ‘Money is no object in this relief effort. We will take whatever steps will be necessary.’
The prime minister went on to outline a package of measures including a possible tax deferral scheme for businesses in affected areas. In response to questions, he indicated that this would offer a three month period of respite. However, he did not specify which taxes or which areas would be included, saying there would be more announcements giving details of the scheme ‘over the next few days’.
The government is also providing a £10m grant for farmers who, Cameron said, ‘faced devastation to their livelihood’. The prime minister said the government was calling on insurers to speed up the process for settling claims for flood damage and had asked the Association of British Insurers and the CBI to organise a meeting to ‘develop further measures to support business’. There are also plans to offer affected households a £5000 grant towards improving protection against floods.
HMRC is yet to confirm details of any arrangements.
