ATT Calls for Equal Access to Tax Relief on Training Costs

At the Spring Statement, the Chancellor highlighted ‘people’ as one of his three priorities, with a goal to encourage businesses to offer more high-quality employee training. The Government has concerns over whether the current tax system is doing enough to encourage businesses to invest in training because UK employers spend just half the European average on training for their employees.

The ATT welcomes any support for employee training – but would also like the Government to look at the position for self-employed people as, when it comes to learning new skills, this group of people currently cannot access the same tax benefits. Where an employer pays for a work-related training course for an employee, there are no tax consequences for the employee on the benefit that they have received and their employer can receive tax relief for the costs incurred. In contrast, the self-employed are only allowed tax relief where the costs are incurred to update the individual’s existing skills. Tax relief is denied if the individual invests in training to develop new skills to use in their business.

The ATT would like to see the imbalance rectified between employees and the self-employed when it comes to developing new work-related skills.

Read more here.