Q&A: Business investment relief

Business investment relief (BIR) was introduced to encourage non-domiciled individuals claiming the remittance basis to make qualifying investments into the UK using monies that would otherwise be taxable if remitted. Money brought to the UK for a qualifying BIR investment does not trigger a taxable remittance under ITA 2007 s 809L. 

What is a qualifying investment?

Broadly a qualifying investment includes acquiring (or subscribing for shares) or providing a loan to a qualifying UK company. The company may be an investment or trading company but there must be no extraction of value from the target company. Salaries and dividends received by the investor are not considered an extraction of value but the personal use of the company’s assets for example a property is.

If an investment meets the conditions for BIR but later the investment fails because the investor ‘extracts value’ ...