Jeremy Hunt has announced 12 new Investment Zones as part of the Budget.
They will be spread across the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, the North East, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, East Midlands, Teesside and Liverpool.
There will also be at least one in each of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Robert Salter, director – global mobility, Blick Rothenberg, said: “The announcement of 12 new investment zones is a bit of a ‘damp squib’ in many respects. Such zones remain in many respects ‘unproven’ and the funds which have been allocated to this idea – circa £80m per zone over 5 years – is basically ‘nothing’ from an overall Government spending perspective.
“The claim that one can earn £1000 per month without paying anything a penny in Income Tax or NICs is much too simplistic. People who have zero hours contracts or work on a seasonal basis, for example, will in many cases continue to be liable to employee NICs on their wages, despite earning under £12,000 per annum. This is because the regulations continue to charge NICs on a ‘per pay’ basis rather than on annual earnings.
“The announcement that the Government is retaining the tax relief available for institutions such as museums, theatres, operas and art galleries for a further two years is welcome. While the cost of this relief is relatively low, cultural events are a keen factor in encouraging tourism into the UK and this is an area that the UK does need to support following the problems caused by Covid lockdowns.”
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