Bitesize Blighty: June 1, 2018
- The number of people investing in Enterprise Investment Schemes fell by more than 15 per cent between 2015/16 and 2016/17 after the government introduced limits on their use. EIS, which was introduced in 1993 to encourage investment in early-stage, high-risk companies, currently offers income tax relief of 30 per cent of the value of any investment and the ability to defer capital gains tax by placing gains from other investments into EIS projects. But in 2015, the government introduced a seven year age limit for companies applying for EIS funding and said no single company could raise more than £12m in investment, among other rules.
- Jonathan Haskel, a professor at Imperial College Business School, has been appointed as an external member of the Bank of England’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee. The Treasury announced his appointment on Thursday. Professor Haskel will replace Ian McCafferty, who has consistently been one of the most hawkish members of the nine-member committee, for a three-year term starting in September.
- Philip Hammond, the UK chancellor, says the country will have to stick with EU privacy rules even after Brexit, despite the US finding the new data protection regime “uncomfortable”. Visiting technology companies in San Francisco, Mr. Hammond responded to criticism from Wilbur Ross, the US commerce secretary, that the General Data Protection Regulation would force “big changes” in how US and European companies do business.
