In today’s Autumn Statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed that full expensing would be made permanent but retained the historic exclusion of the vehicle rental and leasing sectors. A formal government consultation into if the exclusion could be removed in the future was confirmed, following the creation of an industry working group earlier this year*.
Commenting on the announcement, BVRLA Chief Executive, Gerry Keaney, said:
"The Government is banking on permanent full expensing to unleash a wave of new business investment across the UK, but by excluding rental and leasing it is missing a massive opportunity. Our research shows that opening these powerful tax incentives up to the rental and leasing sectors could unlock an additional £1bn worth of investment into low and zero emission commercial vehicles.
“We will continue to work closely with HM Treasury and HMRC on their technical consultation and push for the unfair vehicle rental and leasing exclusion to be removed.”
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* Full expensing was introduced earlier this year. It provides a 100% first year allowance that enables companies to write off the full cost of their investments against their corporation tax bill in the first year. The rental and leasing sectors were excluded from claiming the powerful investment allowances, but the Government committed to working with the vehicle rental and leasing sectors to try to deliver a more supportive capital allowances regime that will benefit all fleets.
Since the Spring budget, the BVRLA, along with member representatives and colleagues across the asset finance industry has worked with HM Treasury and HM Revenue & Customs to make a strong case for leasing and rental to be included in the full expensing regime. Research by the BVRLA demonstrated the move could drive £1.1bn in additional investments in low and zero emission commercial vehicles.
