§ Mr. FlightTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the capital gains taper relief announced in the pre-Budget report will operate in relation to employee share schemes. [23763]
§ Dawn PrimaroloWhere there is a chargeable gain on the disposal of shares acquired through an employee share scheme, taper relief is available for the qualifying holding period.
This period usually starts when the shares are acquired. For shares acquired under options granted under Enterprise Management Incentives, it starts with the date of grant. For shares acquired under the Share Incentive Plan, it starts when the shares leave the plan.
The business assets rate of taper relief is available to employees of trading companies who dispose of shares in their companies and to employees of non-trading companies who do not have a material interest in the company. Such employees will be able to benefit from the improvements to the taper which were announced in the pre-Budget report.