Investors' Relief: Attracting Investment Into Business
Introduced in the Finance Act 2016 ...
Posted by Helen Beaumont on 09/03/2022 @ 8:00AM
Introduced in the Finance Act 2016 and applicable to shares acquired from the 17th of March 2016, Investors' Relief will ensure that qualifying investors pay just 10% Capital Gains Tax on disposal of those shares ...
Although very welcome, Investors' Relief is quite specific to qualify for!
The relief applies to newly subscribed ordinary shares in unlisted trading companies where those shares are held continuously for 3 years and disposed of from the 6th of April 2019. A £10m lifetime Investors' Relief cap will apply in addition to the lifetime Business Asset Disposal Relief cap, so investors can enjoy up to £11m of gains taxed at just 10% during their lifetime.
Unlike Business Asset Disposal Relief, there is no requirement to hold 5% of the shares or voting rights or for the investor to be an officer or employee of the company.
In fact, for Investors' Relief to apply, the investor, and any person connected with them can't be an officer or employee of the company. This is with the exception of two limited circumstances, the main one of which is that they are an unpaid officer of the company, for example, an Unremunerated Director.
An investor is, however, able to receive the following without it being deemed to be remuneration:
The reimbursement of expenses incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of their role as a Director
Interest on a loan to the company charged at a commercial rate
Payment for services provided to the company in the course of a trade or profession which is taken into account in calculating taxable profits. An example of this might be where a director also owns an accountancy practice that provides tax advice to the issuing company
Investors may have to assess on subscribing for shares how optimistic they feel about any potential gain. Do they want to benefit from Investors' Relief in the first place, as this will dictate whether they want to take a remunerated post or not?
As always there are strict qualifying conditions some of which mirror those for Business Asset Disposal Relief and some for Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). Great care should be taken by any investor looking to obtain this relief.
In summary, Investors' Relief is available for those that want to invest in a company, but do not want to be actively involved.
Although the EIS provides tax incentives for investors in this area (see my blog post, Raising Funds Under The Enterprise Investment Scheme), not all companies qualify, specifically, those that are asset-backed such as hotels and property development.
In addition, there are restrictions on the size of a company.
Until next time ...
HELEN BEAUMONT
Would you like to know more?
If anything I've written in this blog post resonates with you and you'd like to discover more, it may be a great idea to give me a call on 01908 774323 and let's see how I can help you.
Helen brings the personal tax planning experience of the top 20 tax companies to Essendon. Formerly of MacIntyre Hudson (with 45 offices nationwide), Helen worked at Chancery for more than 10 years before joining Essendon as the personal tax specialist.
Tax Planning can make a considerable difference to your tax liability. Helen has specialist knowledge and experience in tax planning and uses every opportunity to minimise your tax bill is utilised. By analysing your investments, income, profit and expenditures, Helen will provide strategic tax planning expertise that could offer significant savings, whilst delivering clear, honest advice and guidance.
When Helen is not at Essendon she spends time with her young son and likes going on long walks with the family dog.
No unauthorised use, duplication, distribution or modification to any original content contained within this blog is permitted without prior written permission of the author. All other trademarks and registered names are acknowledged.
