Tax
The Chancellor has today confirmed that the UK will implement the measures included in the Business Tax Roadmap (BTR), released in March this year. Included within the BTR were major changes to UK corporation tax loss utilisation rules and new rules limiting interest deductibility. Both sets of new rules may significantly impact PPP projects and will, as previously announced, apply from 1 April 2017.
Interestingly, the Chancellor has indicated that the draft legislation will include a widening of the concessions in respect of investment in public benefit infrastructure. Operis will provide further comment and discussion on any new developments once the detail of the draft legislation is released – expected to be in early December. Previous Operis comments on the changes to UK interest deductibility rules can be found on our blog.
Infrastructure spending
In the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor also announced the release of billions of pounds of investment for infrastructure sectors such as transport and housing with a substantial amount earmarked for roads. Within the detail was the news that there will be a new pipeline of economic and social projects where funding through the PF2 Public-Private Partnership scheme may be appropriate. A list of these projects will be released in early 2017.
