First published in Tax Journal on 15 June 2018.
After over a month of uncertainty following the expiry of EU state aid approval for EMI schemes, the European Commission has announced it will not to raise objections to the prolongation of the EMI regime. Whilst there has been no explicit confirmation of the ‘effective date’ of the renewed state aid approval, HMRC guidance and the Commission’s formal confirmation letter suggest rights granted or exercised during the lapse period which comply with the EMI rules will benefit from the associated tax reliefs. However, companies operating EMI may be required to supply additional information in the future.
