By Terry Smith
The Finance Bill which gained Royal Assent on 15th March contained changes to the reliefs available on Venture Capital Trusts (VCT) and Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS). The focus of the changes has largely been targeted on the softer end of the risk spectrum, but there are also benefits to be had with personal investment limits raised and increased relief for certain sectors.
The Chancellor believes that so called ‘asset backed’ or ‘downside protection schemes’ are not sufficiently high risk to justify the tax breaks investors receive. These investments offered as much of a guarantee as such schemes ...