SME employees face tax relief cuts

Changes to the enterprise management incentive scheme (EMI) could cost the workers of small businesses tax reliefs.

In the Budget chancellor Alistair Darling said he would increase the value of tax-free share options for SME staff with assets worth less than £30m.

But Darling also limited the scheme to businesses with less than 250 employees.

'This is especially disappointing when often such successful businesses, which have created employment, are competing for management talent among private-equity backed and listed businesses who are able to offer management the opportunity for capital growth through shares,' Kevin Nicholson, head of entrepreneurs at PricewaterhouseCoopers told The Independent.

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