CGT concessions: “Entrepreneurs’ relief” will penalize those with the most potential

The capital gains tax concessions announced today may be welcome news for the UK’s smallest businesses but, ironically, the new “entrepreneurs’ relief” risks damaging the most promising new business owners according to high-growth business specialists at international accountancy firm Mazars.

Tax partner Richard Garrod said:

“From the point of view of many of our clients this was a long wait for nothing. It doesn’t shake off the ghost of taper relief. It’s a small handout designed to try and pacify an irate business community and will do nothing to help those who have built up businesses over £1m. Effectively, we are now back to where were in 1998, before Gordon Brown scrapped retirement relief and introduced taper relief .”

Richard continued:

“I would have at least liked to see some transitional relief; that would have been fairer and would have given the businesses caught in the 10-18% trap, time to take stock.”

Partner Lindsay Pentelow, who also specialises in entrepreneurial tax issues is concerned about the damage done to the UK business culture with larger business gains suffering an 80% increase in tax and passive investment gains in many cases having a significantly reduced rate.. He comments:

“The changes severely penalise business gains relative to passive investment gains and the new entrepreneurs relief does little to alter that.  It will discourage genuine wealth creation and only encourage the financial engineering industry to create investments which give a capital rather than income return.  It is a completely misguided step by the Government”