Leadership race means more tax uncertainty for owner managers

The main rate of corporation tax is currently due to increase to 25% from April 2023. This, coupled with the increase in the NI and dividend tax rates, has eroded the tax benefits of small business incorporation considerably. As a result, many small company owners have been considering their options, including bringing in a spouse or civil partner as a second shareholder, or disincorporating to transfer the business to a sole trade or partnership.

However, the position is now unclear. Several of the leadership candidates have made tax-related pledges, including scrapping the forthcoming rise, reversing the NI rate hike, and even cutting corporation tax. As a result, our advice is to delay making any decision on whether to disincorporate etc. until the leadership contest is over. The position should then become clearer relatively quickly. This is especially true if disincorporating would trigger tax charges.