New entity could help traders

The introduction of a new trading vehicle a sole enterprise with protected assets (SEPA) would be a useful simplification for traders who would otherwise consider incorporation concluded the Office for Tax Simplification (OTS) in a report on the subject. It could also help to encourage enterprise ‘not least by sending a signal to the marketplace that the government is interested in trying new ideas and encouraging enterprise while balancing this encouragement with fair protection’.

Respondents to the report suggested that SEPAs would be adopted on a reasonable scale with some saying it could become the norm for unincorporated sole traders. The main users would be likely to be people in traditional trades and individuals in their 40s and 50s starting a new venture who have property to protect.

The general consensus was that a SEPA would protect the main residence on the basis that if...