Clause 164 - Extension of first-year allowances for ICT expenditure by small companies
Finance Bill
12:00 pm
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel and South Downs, Conservative)
I should like to raise some small points. As hon. Members will be aware, the clause rolls over relief for small businesses on ICT expenditure. It is
worth making the point that it might have been better to announce the extension well before 31 March, which might be an argument for having an earlier, fixed date for the Budget. The result of not knowing whether such a relief is to be rolled over is the inevitable congestion of trying to live within the relief while it exists.
The title of the clause states that it applies to ''small companies'', but our understanding is that it applies to small businesses. It is a minor drafting matter, but perhaps the description should be ''small businesses''. More generally, the measure is greatly welcomed by the companies that will benefit from it, but it is another minor example that raises the question whether the whole body of such incentives, which come and go, actually work and whether businesses know where they stand. Can the Paymaster General tell us what evidence there is to date of this particular 100 per cent. allowance having been successful in stimulating substantial small company ICT investment?