Less than a year left for UK businesses to benefit fully from the temporary increase to Annual Investment Allowance
- Less than a third of respondents surveyed were aware of the increase to the Annual Investment Allowance
- Only a fifth had made use of the allowance during last year
- 43% of respondents said that awareness of the increased allowance would have influenced their decision to invest
January 2014 – A recent survey of over 400 UK SMEs indicates that many risk missing out on the Government’s temporary increase in the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) because they are not aware of the benefit this tax incentive offers.
Research carried out by Lombard, the UK’s largest asset finance provider, shows that less than a third of respondents were aware of the increase, while only a fifth had made use of the allowance last year. However, 43% said that awareness of the increased allowance would have influenced their decision to invest.
Richard Hemsley, Managing Director, Lombard comments, ”We would encourage all SMEs to speak to their finance advisers to find out more about how they can make the most of this temporary increase in allowance which will be available until 31 December 2014. Investment lies at the heart of getting our economy back to running at full strength and we are here to support our customers to achieve their goals and ultimately support our country’s recovery. Capital investment remains a critical factor for UK companies to compete with other countries, particularly emerging economies where we are seeing increased focus on business investment.”
The temporary AIA increase to £250,000 per annum was announced in December 2012 and applies until 31 December 2014.
Hemsley continues: “An example of where we have seen a business benefit is with Leicestershire-based Bluesky International, a privately owned company that provides aerial photography, thermal imagery and LiDAR, which is technology that is able to capture the height of both the terrain and objects on the terrain such as buildings, in amazing high-resolution detail. At the beginning of 2013 the company purchased some state of the art equipment using a Hire Purchase agreement which enabled the company to benefit from the increased AIA.”
Rachel Tidmarsh, Managing Director of Bluesky explains, “We will be able to receive a full deduction against our taxable profits on the first £250,000 of the cost of the equipment which for a business of our size is a substantial benefit. Significantly it will enable us to reinvest in additional equipment that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford so soon. The acquisition of additional aerial equipment will allow us to accelerate our growth plans and open up new markets for our business, particularly in Europe.”
To find out more about the Annual Investment Allowance, and to access the Lombard AIA tax calculator to help you calculate what your savings could be, please log on to http://www.lombard.co.uk/our-expertise/aia-calculator.
