To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has received any advice on the admissibility of Social Investment Tax Relief for community-owned renewable energy projects under EU State Aid Rules from the European Commission or other relevant organisations.
Answered on
3 April 2017
At Autumn Statement 2015 the Government announced the exclusion of all energy generation, including community energy projects, from the tax advantaged venture capital schemes with effect from 6 April 2016 and from the Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) scheme when it is enlarged. The SITR scheme will be enlarged with effect from 6 April 2017 under the provisions of the Finance (No. 2) Bill. This was a domestic policy decision, taken in response to strong and growing evidence of such investments being used for tax planning.