HM Treasury has published 'Tax Support for Entrepreneurs: Call for Evidence', seeking opinions on potential tax reform to support business founders in the UK.
The call for evidence seeks views on the effectiveness of the current tax incentives for business founders and the scaling up of firms. The government is also looking for ways to support companies to start, scale and stay in the UK.
According to the Chancellor in her Budget, the government has already taken steps to help lock in the UK's scale-up potential by maintaining its competitive Corporation Tax rates, providing for full expensing and offering Research & Development reliefs. The UK’s venture capital market is the third largest in the world, behind the US and China, with £9 billion invested in innovative UK companies last year
Recent data show that many firms are still looking abroad for capital and opportunities to grow.
The government is looking for opinions on the following topics:
- The effectiveness of existing tax support.
- The gaps in the tax system for founders and scaling companies.
- Options and ideas to improve, rebalance and better target current support.
The call for evidence shows that the government believes its current schemes, the Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI), Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) have fostered a successful start-up ecosystem in the UK.
These schemes have been in place for many years and the government is looking for opinions on potentially reforming them.
Additionally, the government is looking for opinions on Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) and how it influences decision-making in business and supports entrepreneurial activity.
A full list of questions can be found here. Responses can be submitted online up to 28 February 2026.
Useful guides on this topic
EMI: Enterprise Management Incentive Scheme
What is the Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) scheme? What's the difference between EMI and an unapproved share scheme?
SEIS: Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme
When can SEIS relief be claimed? What are the conditions for SEIS relief? What are the benefits of SEIS relief?
EIS: Enterprise Investment Scheme
When can EIS relief be claimed? What are the conditions for EIS relief? What are the benefits of EIS relief?
Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs)
A Venture Capital Trust (VCT) is a company approved by HMRC that invests in or lends money to, unlisted companies. Individuals may invest in a VCT: this may spread investment risk, as opposed to making a direct investment in an unlisted company.
Research & Development Tax Reliefs
What is R&D Relief? How does it work? Why does the size of the company matter? What is sub-contracted R&D? How do I write an R&D Report?
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