Small businesses rush to beat the capital gains tax hike

Corporate finance advisers report a surge in inquiries from small business owners keen to sell their companies before a likely increase in capital gains tax (CGT) in the new year. 

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Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering proposals for changes to CGT from the Office of Tax Simplification as he looks to raise funds in the wake of Covid-19. Small business owners could face the biggest hit. Sunak is widely expected to align CGT rates much more closely with the income-tax system. Where most taxpayers currently pay CGT at a rate of 20% – falling to 10% for basic-rate taxpayers – higher- and additional-rate taxpayers are charged 40% and 45% respectively on their incomes. Doubling CGT rates could bring in billions.

An additional worry for small business owners is the mooted abolition of Entrepreneurs’ Relief, under which founders pay CGT at only 10% when selling their companies. While the value of this relief was reduced in March, with entrepreneurs now subject to a lifetime limit of £1m of capital gains compared with £20m previously, abolishing it altogether would still cost some owners dearly.

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Selling a company simply for tax reasons may not appeal to many entrepreneurs. However, for business owners who had already been mulling a sale, it may make sense to accelerate the process.

David Prosser
David Prosser
Business Columnist

David Prosser is a regular MoneyWeek columnist, writing on small business and entrepreneurship, as well as pensions and other forms of tax-efficient savings and investments. David has been a financial journalist for almost 30 years, specialising initially in personal finance, and then in broader business coverage. He has worked for national newspaper groups including The Financial Times, The Guardian and Observer, Express Newspapers and, most recently, The Independent, where he served for more than three years as business editor.