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Chartered Accountants | Business Development Specialists | Registered Auditors.
Abbey House, 342 Regents Park Road, Finchley, Barnet, London, N3 2LJ
(Also offices in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire)
Growing your business is our business
The decision to change the basis of capital gains tax (CGT) for individuals and trustees by removing taper relief and indexation for disposals on or after 6 April 2008, and to charge gains at a flat rate of 18%, was greeted with outrage by the business community. The removal of an effective 10% higher rate of tax on gains on family company shares and commercial property leaves many individuals with a potentially large increase in their tax liability when they eventually dispose of their business assets.
Some small glimmer of hope in an otherwise gloomy situation came with the announcement that a new relief, known as Entrepreneurs' Relief (ER), applies in some situations for disposals on or after 6 April 2008. This relief means that some disposals will still attract an effective rate of CGT of 10%.
The relief works by reducing gains on qualifying assets by 4/9ths, leaving the balance of the gain taxable at 18%. By an amazing coincidence this gives an effective rate of 10%. The relief will be available on gains of up to £1m over an individual's lifetime, starting from 6 April 2008, so the impact of ER will be diminished once that limit is passed, whether on a single disposal or on a cumulative basis. The maximum ER which will be available is £444,444 (£1m x 4/9ths) and this means that the effective rate of CGT will climb towards, but will never actually reach, 18% for gains exceeding £1m.
The categories of assets that qualify for ER are not as wide as those for business asset taper and some asset disposals will not obtain any relief at all. The relief may apply to gains arising on the disposal of:
The conditions for the relief must generally be satisfied throughout the period of 12 months leading up to the date of the disposal. A couple of examples illustrate the limitations of the relief.
Jim McDee has a farm and sells several fields to a developer for a large gain. He retains the farmyard and continues to farm. Under the old rules, he may have been able to claim business asset taper relief on the disposal. Under the new rules, no ER will be available because he has not disposed of the whole or part of the business.
Jack Spratt had originally set up Low Fat Foods Ltd and has always held 40% of the shares. He retired from the board several years ago to let the younger generation take over the running of the company. Mega Foods plc make an offer to buy out the shares but Jack will get no ER because he is not an employee or officer of the company even though his shareholding meets the 5% voting rights requirement.
It is important that careful planning is done well in advance of any disposal and you may wish to explore these issues with us.
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