New Patent Box Regime Effective from 1 April 2013

The new Patent Box rules come into force on 1 April 2013. Company profits derived from patents will be subject to a reduced rate of corporation tax of 10%. The profits attributable to patents can be paid separately as royalties or embedded in the sales price of products. Companies will need to make an election within a period of 2 years in order to qualify for the reduced rate of corporation tax.

For more information, feel free to contact Belsize Accountancy on 0207 043 0052.

Government Help To Buy Scheme Sends House Prices Higher

The new government Help to Buy scheme announced in April 2013 provides benefits to homebuyers and was introduced to stimulate the flagging UK housing market. The new scheme appears to have had an impact with figures for May 2013 revealing that house prices have risen to a post credit crunch high. The average house price in the UK has risen to £233,061, a rise of 2.7% compared to prior year. House prices in London continue to increase although this is not reflective of the rest of the UK, with prices stagnating in many regions outside of the capital.

Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and Capital Gains Relief

Any investors making capital gains in 2013/14 will receive a 50% Capital Gains Tax (“CGT”) relief when they reinvest those gains into SEIS qualifying companies in either 2013/14 or 2014/15.

Angel investors and contractors with spare cash would be advised to explore the significant tax breaks available under the SEIS scheme.