Recent figures obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request show that take up of Business Investment Relief rose dramatically in the year 2013-2014.
Figures obtained by Mark Davies & Associates show that funds invested in the UK under BIR rose by 65% to £545m (rounded to nearest million), meaning that BIR claimants invested an average of £1.71m each. The number of individuals claiming Business Investment Relief (BIR) rose by 36% to 317.
Business Investment Relief enables remittance basis taxpayers who bring their foreign income or gains to the UK and invest it in a target company to claim relief from the UK tax charge that would otherwise arise.
Mark comments on the figures as follows:
“While this rise in claimants is striking, we believe it is just a fraction of the people who are actually eligible for Business Investment Relief. The number of UK resident non-domiciled individuals claiming the remittance basis for this period was 50,900, but only 317 claimed BIR. Many are dissuaded by the apparent complexity of the relief.
“The recently announced changes to the non-dom regime will do nothing to encourage long term investment by non-doms. Nearly half a billion pounds has been invested in the UK by a very small number of non-doms but Mr Osborne should be treading very carefully to avoid scaring off this valuable source of investment.”