Treasury told to relax EIS rules

 Treasury told to relax EIS rules

Investors have called on the Treasury to loosen new rules on investing in so-called knowledge intensive companies claiming they are too tight. Investors can receive 30% in tax relief on investments of £2m after the limit on the enterprise investment scheme (EIS) was doubled in last year’s budget, but the business must spend heavily on R&D and create their own intellectual property. It also qualifies if more than 20% of its staff have master’s degrees or higher that are relevant to the industry they work in. However, Jenny Tooth, chief executive of the UK Business Angels Association, which represents more than 18,000 investors, says “the current definition is too restrictive for the kind of knowledge-creating business which should be attracting investment.”

Source: The Sunday Times (21/01/2018)