Venture Capital Trusts - VCT industry takes another battering in this year's Budget

Latest raft of changes limit investment into companies of £2m per annum, following last year's reduction in tax relief from 40% to 30%

Since their inception in 1995, VCTs have seen more than their fair share of changes and this year's Budget was no less dramatic than those of recent years. The VCT industry has yet again taken a battering, with the announcement of the new investment limit into a qualifying company of £2m in any 12-month period. Meanwhile, the company invested in must not have more than than 50 employees. This limitation, applying equally to EISs, is a result of pressure from the EU, which is seeking to standardise the upper limit for state subsidy across the EU under a regime known as SARC (state aided ri...