Cable urged to give SME investment tax breaks a second chance

BUSINESS SECRETARY Vince Cable has been urged to reintroduce the Corporate Venture Scheme (CVS).

The Lib Dem politician is being pressed to resurrect the scheme, which expired in March 2010, by accountancy firm Smith & Williamson, which sent him an open letter.

The CVS scheme provided vital tax incentives for corporates looking to invest in SMEs and sought to foster mutually advantageous relationships between them.

In the letter, signed by Smith & Williamson’s head of entrepreneurial services, Guy Rigby, it outlines some of the key findings of a white paper based on outcomes from its recent ‘Unleashing British Business’ forum.

The firm stressed its belief that the scheme’s reintroduction will help the UK become a better place to start, finance and grow a business and create employment opportunities.

Its report, based on its ‘Unleashing British Business’ forum – a discussion between 60 business leaders – held in conjunction with Cubitt Consulting and The Centre for Entrepreneurs, argued that Britain lacks the kind of education that facilitates entrepreneurship and innovation.

It also points to a significant generational shift in relation to entrepreneurship, with young people now more likely than ever to set up their own business.

Other elements called for the reintroduction of a small company tax rate with “meaningful differentials” and increased investment in digital, housing and transport infrastructure both inside and outside major UK cities.