§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the revenue yield for(a) the first year and (b) a full year from abolishing the (i) enterprise investment scheme and (ii) venture capital trusts; and if he will make a statement. [106463]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 24 January 2000]: The estimated costs of tax reliefs for the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trusts are £100 million and £80 million respectively for 1999–2000. Investors generally claim tax relief under these schemes in their tax returns so the first year yield from abolition would be small. In practice it is unlikely that a yield of this order would be realised as the money which would have been invested in the schemes would be diverted elsewhere with a knock-on effect on other reliefs. The Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trust 213W scheme play a valuable role in encouraging investment in small higher risk trading companies which have difficulty in raising capital from other sources to develop and grow.