As we wrote in our article dated 11th November, the future of corporate tax reliefs such as Entrepreneurs’ Relief (ER) were high on the agenda with both main political parties for yesterday’s general election.
ER was first introduced in 2008, and currently allows qualifying business owners to pay a reduced rate of Capital Gains Tax at 10% on business disposals up to a lifetime allowance of £10m.
Under a Labour government, ER was set to be abolished as laid out in their manifesto. With the newly elected Conservative government in place, the situation around the future of ER is less fundamental, however, in the Conservative party manifesto, this tax relief will be subject to rigorous “review and reform”.
What “reform” actually means will be revealed in the Budget anticipated to be delivered in February 2020. Whilst there is a risk that any change to ER will be effective immediately, it is arguably more likely that it will take effect from the beginning of the new tax year on 6th April 2020.
If you are contemplating a transaction in the short to medium term, whether it is a full or partial exit, there is a strong case in bringing this forward and concluding a transaction within the current tax regime in advance of the start of the new tax year in April 2020.
The team at HMT provides specialist advice to shareholders, management and companies on acquisitions, disposals and corporate restructurings.
Contact our team on 01491579740 to discuss your particular circumstances before the bell tolls for this most lucrative of tax planning incentives.