Good News For #FinTech And #Crowdfunding in Autumn Statement

The government has announced bad debt relief for lending through P2P platforms; a consultation on whether to extend ISA eligibility to crowd-investing in debt securities and an intention to review some rules that add unnecessary costs for institutional lending through P2P platforms.

Individuals lending through P2P platforms to offset any losses from loans which go bad against other P2P income. It will be effective from April 2016 and will allow individuals to make a self-assessment claim for relief on losses incurred from April 2015.

The government will also consult on the introduction of a withholding regime for personal income tax to apply across all P2P lending platforms from April 2017. This will help many individuals to resolve their tax liability without them having to file for Self Assessment.

The government will call for evidence on how APIs could be used in banking to enable financial technology companies to develop innovative solutions to allow customers compare banks and financial products.

From January 2015, the majority of card acquirers will offer a new service for small businesses to receive the funds from debit and credit card transactions much more quickly. Two acquirers will not meet this commitment, and the government will ask the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) to examine whether small businesses are being disadvantaged as a result.

The government will allow gains that are eligible for Entrepreneurs’ Relief (ER) and deferred into investment under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) or Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) to benefit from ER when the gain is realised. The government will also increase the annual investment limit for SITR to £5 million per annum, up to a total of £15 million per organisation, from April 2015 and will also consult further on a new relief for indirect investment in social enterprises.

To better target the tax reliefs, the government will exclude all companies substantially benefiting from other government support for the generation of renewable energy from also benefiting from tax-advantaged venture capital schemes, with the exception of community energy generation undertaken by qualifying organisations. The government will also make it easier for qualifying investors and companies to use the tax-advantaged venture capital schemes by launching a new digital process in 2016.