VCTs/EIS

People looking to establish tax avoidance schemes will have to pay due taxes to HMRC upfront before applying to get it back through the courts, Chancellor George Osborne has announced.

HM Revenue & Customs has withdrawn VCT approval for the Oxford Technology trust after it was found to have breached rules over the amount it held in a single firm.

ENTERPRISE INVESTMENT SCHEMES

VCT, EIS and Seed EIS offer advisers great tax planning and investment opportunities for their clients, particularly in the run up to the end of the tax year. But how do advisers ensure they get the right scheme to meet the needs of their client?

Share buybacks carried out by Venture Capital Trusts (VCT) will no longer qualify for tax relief from April 2014, the government has said.

VCT specialist Puma Investments has today launched its latest limited life venture capital trust, Puma VCT 10.

Hargreave Hale is seeking to raise £20m for its VCT range from new and existing investors.

VCT funds under management have hit £2.9bn this year, the highest level since the sector was established in 1995.

VCTs

Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) and Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS) have been granted an exemption from the FCA's ban on sales of unregulated collective investment schemes (UCIS) to retail investors.