The chancellor has unveiled the UK's first investment zone located in the South Yorkshire, building on the area's existing industrial and academic heritage. The investment zone will be backed by £80m of support for a range of interventions which could include skills and infrastructure as well as tax reliefs.
Tax incentives for designated tax sites within investment zones mirror those available for freeports and include the following reliefs:
full stamp duty land tax relief for land and buildings purchased for commercial use or development for commercial purposes;
100% relief from business rates on newly occupied business premises, and certain existing businesses which expand in a tax site;
100% first-year allowance for companies’ qualifying expenditure on plant and machinery for use in a tax site;
enhanced rate of structures and buildings allowance of 10% a year on the cost of qualifying non-residential buildings or structures (thereby writing off the cost on a straight-line basis over ten years);
zero-rate employer NICs on salaries of any new employee working in the tax site for at least 60% of their time, on earnings up to £25,000 per year, for 36 months per employee.
Seven further investment zones are planned for England, with a further four in collaboration with the devolved governments. The tax reliefs for tax sites within investment zones and freeports (now called 'special tax sites' for tax purposes, in line with Finance (No. 2) Act 2023 s 331 and Schedule 23) appear to be identical. The principal difference between freeports and investment zones is the nature of their geographical location, with freeports based around shipping ports and airports (consequently with a focus on imports and exports), whereas investment zones are linked up with the mayoral combined authorities and will be clusters of industrial and technological activity.
The chancellor has unveiled the UK's first investment zone located in the South Yorkshire, building on the area's existing industrial and academic heritage. The investment zone will be backed by £80m of support for a range of interventions which could include skills and infrastructure as well as tax reliefs.
Tax incentives for designated tax sites within investment zones mirror those available for freeports and include the following reliefs:
full stamp duty land tax relief for land and buildings purchased for commercial use or development for commercial purposes;
100% relief from business rates on newly occupied business premises, and certain existing businesses which expand in a tax site;
100% first-year allowance for companies’ qualifying expenditure on plant and machinery for use in a tax site;
enhanced rate of structures and buildings allowance of 10% a year on the cost of qualifying non-residential buildings or structures (thereby writing off the cost on a straight-line basis over ten years);
zero-rate employer NICs on salaries of any new employee working in the tax site for at least 60% of their time, on earnings up to £25,000 per year, for 36 months per employee.
Seven further investment zones are planned for England, with a further four in collaboration with the devolved governments. The tax reliefs for tax sites within investment zones and freeports (now called 'special tax sites' for tax purposes, in line with Finance (No. 2) Act 2023 s 331 and Schedule 23) appear to be identical. The principal difference between freeports and investment zones is the nature of their geographical location, with freeports based around shipping ports and airports (consequently with a focus on imports and exports), whereas investment zones are linked up with the mayoral combined authorities and will be clusters of industrial and technological activity.
