Venture capital schemes aim to raise private finance for smaller businesses by offering investors a tax incentive. One of the schemes will close in a few weeks. What’s the full story?

The main venture capital schemes, including the enterprise investment scheme, are relatively well known. However, there is a specialist scheme that encourages investments into social enterprises. The social investment tax relief (SITR) scheme offers an income tax break equal to up to 30% of the amount invested where the conditions are met. The scope of the scheme is quite limited, but can be an attractive investment if you feel strongly about social or environmental issues. The Budget confirmed that SITR would not be extended beyond the end of the current tax year. That means if you want to make a qualifying investment, or secure an investment for your social enterprise, you have less than three weeks to do so. Guidance on SITR and the conditions that need to be met can be found here.

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