SMEs – First-year investment in doubt

SMEs - First-year investment in doubt

The government has refused to guarantee the continuation of enhanced first-year capital investment allowances for small and medium-sized businesses, write our parliamentary staff.

Financial secretary Barbara Roche warned: ‘It would be premature to decide now whether first-year allowances should be extended again next year or during the two subsequent years.

‘We shall need to examine the matter very carefully in the light of the economy and all the other measures that we have introduced, or are introducing, to help small businesses.’

Roche rejected a Tory amendment to the Finance Bill moved by accountant MP and shadow chief secretary David Heathcoat-Amory, continuing 40% first-year allowances until 2004.

Heathcoat-Amory claimed firms had been ‘penalised’ by bringing forward investment they would not have otherwise undertaken because they believed the concession would end, as was announced in the past three Budgets.

Heathcoat-Amory called on Roche to explain the government’s investment strategy ‘and say whether this really will be the end of annual extensions or whether businesses will, in due course, find they have been betrayed yet again and need not have brought forward their investment plans to benefit from the lighter tax incentive’.

Liberal Democrat spokesman Edward Davey said businesses would not welcome short-term measures. He urged ministers to decide whether to introduce measures to encourage investment, or make the new allowances permanent.

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata
Professional Services

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021
Making Tax Digital

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource