International Expansion
& Inward Investment

There are multiple investor reliefs and we can advise in all of them:

EIS/SEIS/VCT

This is probably one of the most important tax reliefs to ever be introduced into the UK. A collection of three similar reliefs, Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Venture Capital Trust Scheme (VCT). They all provide the investor with money back on their investment through their tax returns of between 30-50%, and no tax on the sale of the shares if held for the qualifying period. They also provide multiple other tax reliefs if the conditions are met. Because the reliefs are very generous, the rules are complex and strict and it is extremely important to be very careful with the reliefs to not cause the terms to be breached. However, their importance in the start up eco system is profound.

Advance Assurance for EIS/SEIS/VCT. To assist companies HMRC offers an advance assurance service to enable you to confirm your eligibility and give investors the confidence to invest.

We can advise and assist foreign companies with how to access EIS/SEIS/VCT, without major restructuring. Contrary to popular believe you do not need to be a UK Headquartered company to claim it.

BADR

Business Asset Disposal Relief (formerly Entrepreneurs relief) is less generous than it was and also has strict conditions, but does provide for a 10% tax rate for capital gains for up to £1m in a person lifetime.

IR

Investment Relief is a far lesser known relief, but very useful where BADR or EIS/SEIS/VCT may not apply. It allows a 10% rate of tax on capital gains on the sale of shares held for 3 years when invested in an unquoted company to up to £10m of gain.

BIR

Business Investment Relief is a relief available to people who are subject to the remittance basis for tax, and wish to bring money into the UK and invest it into their own, or someone else company. A highly useful relief in these circumstances provided the conditions are met.

If someone is sent to the UK for a period of up to two years, there are helpful tax reliefs they, and indeed the company, could benefit from. There are legal and tax elements to how this works in terms of their employment rights, how it is contractually done, and how the tax relief can assist the individual.

We can provide all aspects of this advice and the related agreements and have in depth knowledge of how these relief interplays with overseas countries laws particularly between USA/UK, Canada/UK, Australia/UK, NZ/UK, India/UK and EEA/UK.

The UK has a generous system of tax credits for a variety of industries. Called the Creative Industry Reliefs.

These cover:

• Films
• High-end television
• Children’s television
• Animation television
• Video games
• Theatrical productions
• Orchestral concerts
• Museum or gallery exhibitions

The UK has a generous set of reliefs for companies undertaking R&D activities. Companies involved in the advancement of science or technology are able to claim back a tax credit. This tax credit can be converted to cash.

We can help with:

• R&D Tax Credits for large companies (RDEC Scheme)
• R&D Tax Credits for
• SMEs (SME Scheme)

Share schemes are a great way of boosting the remuneration and motivation of staff. They also have zero impact on a business’s short-term cashflow. This means that they can help compensate for salary limitations if your business is in its infancy.

There are several HMRC approved schemes which offer valuable tax reliefs. Sadly, they can be complicated to set up. We can help you plan properly. Meaning that the tax savings from both employee and employer are worthwhile.

Our services include:

Share Incentive Plans (SIPs)
Save as You Earn schemes (SAYE)
Company Share Options Plan (CSOP)
Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI)
Non tax-advantages schemes
Drafting of share option arrangements
HMRC reporting compliance
Tax calculations and payment compliance
Phantom share plans
Growth Shares
Reverse vesting shares