Accountant calls for green tax breaks

Date: 12th September 2008

A leading accountant has called on the government to introduce "real tax incentives" to encourage people and businesses to invest in green energy production.

Lisa Macpherson, the national director of tax at PKF, explained that Gordon Brown, when chancellor, introduced tax reliefs that helped the UK film industry raise huge amounts of investment capital and revitalised film making in the UK.

She said that this clearly showed that the use of tax reliefs "can change investors' behaviour".

As a result, Ms Macpherson urged Alistair Darling to consider what tax break would best encourage investment in the emerging green energy sector.

"Carefully constructed tax breaks for investors will gear up the investment capital that can be pumped into the UK's green energy sector at a time when all businesses are finding it harder to find funding," the accountant explained.

"Simple relief structures, similar to the ones used for enterprise investment schemes or venture capital trusts, but without their restrictive limits on total funds, would capture investors' attention and ensure vital long-term funding for this key industry."