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SEIS and EIS advance assurance applications: Dos and don’ts for your business plan

SEIS and EIS Advance Assurance Applications: Your Business Plan

This blog post aims to set out what your business plan / pitch deck document should (and should not) include when you are preparing to submit an SEIS / EIS advance assurance application to HMRC.

We regularly advise new start-up companies on both SEIS and EIS advance assurance applications, as well as already established companies that are seeking to raise investment pursuant to EIS. We have also successfully sought advance assurance from HMRC on behalf of knowledge intensive companies and companies that are raising funds outside of the seven-year basic age condition.

We are therefore used to receiving business plans / pitch decks from businesses at various stages of development and from companies operating in a multitude of different markets and industries.

Below we explain the basics of what your business plan should include as well as highlight points that you should avoid mentioning within the document (based on our previous experiences with HMRC and our in-depth knowledge of the SEIS / EIS rules).

What your business plan should include

Your business plan needs to set out clearly what it is that your company does and the gap in the market that it is trying to fill. For example, if you have developed a technology platform, your business plan should state clearly the problem / dilemma that the platform is intending to fix.

Your business plan should be written in plain English so that it can be easily understood by the HMRC inspector reviewing your Company’s application. You should therefore avoid using complex language or sector specific terminology (i.e. ‘jargon’) and assume that the HMRC inspector reviewing the application has no knowledge about the sector that your company operates (or intends to operate) in.

Describe the activities that your business carries out on a day to day basis. One of HMRC’s requirements is that ‘ details of all trading or other activities to be carried on by the company ’ are outlined clearly in the application. The business plan gives you a good opportunity to meet this requirement and describe your business, outline its trading activities, identify the market it is going to be (or already is) operating in and detail the products / services it is going to provide to its customers.

HMRC will be particularly interested in how the company is going to make its money and will want the business plan to set out the company’s revenue / income streams.

Something that you should be aware of here is that one of the excluded activities contained within Venture Capital Schemes Manual 3060 ( VCM3060 ) is that of receiving royalties or license fees. If part of your company’s revenues are or will be attributable to receiving royalty and / or license fees, you will need to make this clear in the business plan. What you would then need to do is use the wording in VCM3060 to argue that your company comes within the waiver to this general exclusion. We have previously received advance assurance from HMRC on behalf of numerous companies where we have had to put forward such arguments and so the fact that your company receives royalty / license fees as part of its revenue will not necessarily preclude it from being a qualifying company under the SEIS / EIS.

You should identify in your business plan any patents, trademarks (or other intellectual property rights) that will be attributable to the company and who will own those rights. It is also a good idea to outline the number of full-time employees that the company will have at the time that it raises the investment monies and issues the shares to qualifying investors. This is because a qualifying company under the SEIS must have no more than 25 ‘full time or equivalent’ employees at the time of the share issue and this number under the EIS is no more than 250 of such employees.

If any work is to be outsourced you should identify what work is being outsourced and to whom – bearing in mind that if your company is going to be outsourcing a vast amount of its activities or a significant proportion of them, this will decrease your company’s chances of receiving advance assurance from HMRC (as explained further below).

The business plan should not be overly detailed and therefore you need not go into scrupulous detail regarding any work to be outsourced / subcontracted (the majority of this detail should be contained within the covering letter submitted as part of the advance assurance application). Something to be aware of here is that   VCM60260 states that if the majority of the activities carried on by the company are subcontracted out (or outsourced – although this wording is not used by HMRC in the VCM), this is likely to, in HMRC’s view, constitute a “disqualifying arrangement”.

Specifically, VCM60260 states as follows on this point: “Each case will be considered on its own merits, but factors pointing to a decision not to grant advance assurance on the grounds that there may be ‘disqualifying arrangements’ are likely to include (without necessarily being restricted to) cases where the following apply: … the transactions to be entered into by the company will involve the company paying all or most of the monies raised by the share issue to a party to whom it has subcontracted work or from whom it has commissioned work in advance of that work being done, whilst the company will not be paid by its customer until work has been completed, where it seems likely that these arrangements exist as part of ‘disqualifying arrangements’”.

In addition, VCM60260 states that “disqualifying arrangements” are likely to also include cases where: “the majority of the activities required to fulfil obligations to customers will be carried out by persons other than employees of the relevant trading company (i.e. the company making the advance assurance application), or will be carried on by employees of the company but other than in their capacity as such…”.

Importantly, the final paragraph of VCM60260 reads as follows: “ For instance, the fact that the company subcontracts work as part of its normal trading activities will not prevent HMRC giving an assurance if the subcontracting agreement is not part of ‘disqualifying arrangements ’”.

From this wording we can deduce that HMRC will not disqualify a company from the schemes where subcontractors are used (as this is common / standard practice across the majority of industries). The point that you must stress if you will be outsourcing / subcontracting is that the company is not outsourcing / subcontracting all (or mostly all) of its activities and also that it is not using SEIS / EIS monies to pay off subcontractors.

In your business plan you should also highlight the size of the market in which your business operates (or will operate) and also identify your company’s main competitors (if there are any – which there may not be if your product / service offering is particularly bespoke or unique). It would also be beneficial if you can also clearly identify your customers / target market. This shows that the company has undergone market research and is seeking to enter (or has already entered) a real market with a tangible, identifiable target market (i.e. it is not a ‘shell’ company that has been set up purely for the purposes of attracting SEIS / EIS tax reliefs with no intention of actually operating in a market or offering products and / or services to customers).

Providing such evidence to HMRC will strengthen your application as it demonstrates to HMRC that, given the amount / strength of competition within the market and the overall size of the market in which your company is operating (or intends to operate in), the investor’s capital is significantly at risk and therefore the risk-to-capital condition is met.

We regularly see in our client’s business plans a ‘team profile’ section. This can be as simple or as detailed as you like. HMRC will want to know who works for the company (and their roles / titles). If you have a small retained team then pictures of your individual team members followed by confirmation of their role / title and what they do for the company is a good starting point. If you have a large retained team it would clearly be impractical to list all employees and so in such a case just list the founders / directors of the company and introduce them and their backgrounds.

Your business plan should give some background information about its development which has led it to the investment stage. You could for example include a company timeline showing the date that the company was incorporated and when it began trading (if this was after incorporation) and show what the company has been doing up to the point that the application is being submitted. You should make clear whether or not the company is currently trading. If your company has not yet began to trade that is not an issue, you just need to make that clear in the business plan and (if possible) state when the company will (or at least when you intend it to) commence trading.

One of the most important aspects of your business plan will be demonstrating to HMRC how the company intends to grow and develop over the long-term. You should outline this as clearly as possible for example by setting out the company’s plans to recruit additional full-time staff in the future, its intention to enter into new geographic or product markets or specifying new revenue streams that it will pursue in the future. Explaining how your company will use the SEIS / EIS investment monies and showing HMRC how such expenditure will lead to the company’s long-term growth and development is a key part of the business plan as well as the advance assurance application generally.

As highlighted above in this blog post, the business plan does not need to be overly detailed. You should therefore avoid containing lengthy / complex / incomprehensible (to the layman) financial accounts / forecasts within the business plan. A simple three-year cash flow projection / forecast summary is required (i.e. three-year profit and loss projections) and this should be kept brief, laid out in a simple way and most importantly should be easy to understand. You have to include such financial information within the business plan and so make sure that this is included.

As above, HMRC will want to know where the investment monies being raised pursuant to SEIS / EIS are going to be spent. For example, say that your company wishes to raise £250,000 pursuant to both SEIS and EIS. In such a case, your company’s business plan should include a simple Excel spreadsheet (or equivalent) providing HMRC with a granular breakdown of how those investment monies will be spent by the company – for example on developing the company’s product, meeting marketing costs and / or paying staff salaries.

HMRC’s rules state that “ A company must not raise more money than it needs in order for investors to obtain tax relief ”. Therefore, if you state that you are seeking to raise £250,000, you should provide an Excel spreadsheet detailing exactly where that full amount of £250,000 will be spent. If your spreadsheet shows that you only require £200,000, HMRC would undoubtedly pick up on this and would revert back asking for an amended spreadsheet or revised investment target figure. You should also make clear in the business plan that the investment monies are only going to be used / put towards qualifying business activities.

Please note that the new SEIS / EIS checklists that are now required to be completed and submitted to HMRC as part of any advance assurance application provide, in relation to the amount of money the company intends to raise: “ You must give a good estimate of the amounts to be raised, to reconcile with the business plan and financial forecasts. We will not accept applications stating figures such as ‘up to £5 million ’”. Therefore, the expenditure spreadsheet / table detailing how the investment monies will be spent must contain a definitive figure.

HMRC do require a set of the company’s most recent accounts to be provided as part of the application. These should therefore not be set out in the business plan but instead sent as a separate attachment. If the company is newly incorporated and / or has not yet began to trade it will not have produced a set of accounts and you can simply confirm this in the advance assurance application form (we regularly adopt this approach when acting on behalf of start-up companies and HMRC have never taken issue with this in our experience). HMRC will not expect you to put together a set of accounts for your company as part of the advance assurance application.

Always include a summary of your investment / funding plans and requirements. Investors will want to know such information and most importantly (for the purposes of the SEIS / EIS advance assurance process), HMRC will too. You should avoid declaring that the company is (or will be) SEIS / EIS eligible before HMRC have granted advance assurance. The whole reason behind submitting the advance assurance application is to obtain the right to advertise your company to potential investors as SEIS / EIS qualifying. HMRC inspectors tend to respond negatively if you advertise your company as qualifying under the schemes before they have granted advance assurance. You can of course highlight in the business plan that the company intends to submit an advance assurance application in order to become SEIS / EIS eligible (and make clear that approval is pending or is currently under consideration by HMRC).

If desired, you could also insert a slide to the business plan / pitch deck highlighting to investors the risk that they will be taking when investing in the company (i.e. a ‘capital at risk’ disclaimer). You could highlight that investment in shares in an unquoted company carries many risks and that the investors may lose their entire investment. In addition, you could make clear that the investors should consider the risks involved before deciding to invest in the company. You can outline points such as the fact that the company’s profit / loss projections may not be accurate and profits may not materialise, that there is no guarantee of a return on an investment and the fact that the shares are unquoted means that it is difficult to obtain valuation information and to fully assess the extent of the risk involved. Your investors should also be made aware that there is no established market for the sale of unquoted / unlisted shares and so selling their shares for a reasonable price (or at all) to a third party outside of the company’s existing shareholder base may be impossible.

Your business plan should also clearly indicate whether any follow-on funding will be required by the company in the future. You need not specify how much follow-on funding the company may require in the future, but it is worth indicating that this may be required even if only in general terms.

It is worth noting that VCM60220 states that “ Any assurance supplied to a company is given only on the basis of the information provided, see VCM60050. HMRC does not generally check the accuracy or completeness of the information. It is the company’s responsibility to ensure it meets the scheme rules and provides statements and evidence supporting its view that the company is eligible to receive investment under the scheme. HMRC will highlight any obvious errors or potential failures; otherwise HMRC will generally accept what is said in the application ”.

With that being said, within the business plan you will still have to ensure that the information contained within that document is accurate and true to the fullest extent possible. In VCM60220, HMRC stress that: “ An advance assurance based on limited disclosure will not be valid and investors cannot rely upon such advance assurance when deciding whether to invest in a company. An investment reliant on an advance assurance based on inadequate disclosure cannot be assumed to being a qualifying investment. If HMRC subsequently finds that a company was not eligible for investment because the company had not made a full disclosure of relevant information then any compliance statement will be rejected or, if later, any tax relief given will be withdrawn ”.

Potential pitfalls and detail that your business plan should not include

Be careful when using the words ‘partners’ or ‘partnerships’ in your business plan – given that these words carry certain legal meanings under UK legislation. On this point, VCM13150 states as follows: “ During recent consideration of the EIS legislation HMRC has revised its view of how the legislation has effect in relation to partnerships. HMRC considers that the relevant legislation at section 183 of the Income Tax Act 2007 has the effect of disqualifying a company where the relevant trade, preparation work or research and development, is carried on by a company in partnership or by a limited liability partnership of which the company is a member. This is because where any of these activities are carried on in partnership or by a limited liability partnership; there are persons other than the issuing company or a qualifying 90 per cent subsidiary of that company carrying on the activity ”.

Avoiding the words ‘partners’ and ‘partnerships’ is therefore advisable. If your company will be entering into these kinds of arrangements with other companies, it would be best to describe such  companies as “co-collaborators”, “distributors” or “suppliers”.

One of the requirements under the SEIS and EIS is that the company must have no pre-arranged exits (this is confirmed in VCM12080 ). VCM12080 provides as follows:

“ No relief is available in respect of shares if the arrangements under which they were issued, or any arrangements which otherwise relate to or are connected with the issue, include:

• arrangements which might in any way lead to the disposal of the shares, or of other shares in the company,
• arrangements which might lead to the cessation of the company’s trade, or of any trade carried on by a person connected with the company,
• arrangements for the disposal of some or all of the assets of the company or of any person connected with the company.

This rule is intended to ensure that the company is capable of carrying on its trade indefinitely under its existing ownership. There is a let-out for arrangements, of the kind which might be found in a company’s Articles of Association, which merely ensure that if its trade fails the company can be wound up in an orderly manner ”.

Importantly, VCM12080 provides that: “ The rule does not stop the directors of a company from indicating in advance to potential investors how they envisage that shares in the company might be disposed of at some later date ”.

You should nevertheless avoid mentioning investor exits within the business plan that is submitted to HMRC as part of the advance assurance application. If you include such wording in the business plan then your company is unlikely to qualify for SEIS / EIS. Of course, an investor’s intention when injecting cash into a company is to achieve a capital gain on their investment further down the line, however HMRC do not like these to be pre-arranged and in existence before the company has raised funds or even began to trade. To be safe and certain you should avoid mentioning exits and reiterate the point within the business plan that given the level of risk involved, the investors are more likely to lose their investment than to make any kind of capital gain on it.

VCM60260 provides that HMRC are likely to decide not to grant advance assurance on the grounds that there may be disqualifying arrangements in place in cases where: “ the prospectus, information memorandum, brochure or similar offer document (i.e. the business plan / pitch deck) describes the investment opportunity in a way which suggests that the investment is not high risk. This may include, for instance, statements to the effect that the investment is low-risk or lower risk than other EIS, SEIS or SITR investments or that there is a high likelihood of the investor’s capital being preserved… ”. You should therefore ensure that your business plan contains no such wording.

As mentioned at various points throughout this blog post, make sure that the business plan is not unnecessarily lengthy and complex. Around ten pages is a good size with not too much text on each page / slide. You should ensure that it is sharp and to the point and that it contains (among other details) the points highlighted in this blog post (and doesn’t include the points / detail that we have flagged as inappropriate).

HMRC automatically rejects emails to the [email protected] email address where the attachments exceed 8MB in size. You should therefore make sure that the business plan (and all other documents that you submit as part of the application) are small enough in size so as to comply with this requirement. You can use file compression software on various websites online, however please be aware that there is no way of knowing where your files will be sent during the compression process and you should therefore try and compress the files internally (particularly where the attachments contain sensitive / confidential information – which is almost always the case).

General tips to consider

The JLN recently attended a webinar hosted by Paul Grant, founder of  The Funding Game , called “How to create a pitch deck to secure investment offers”.

Generally when drafting a pitch deck, Paul advises that you should stick to the “10, 20, 30” rule. This means that:

• It should take you no more than 10  minutes to present the pitch deck;
• The pitch deck should contain no more than 20 slides (Paul advises that a good rule of thumb is somewhere between 12 and 14 slides); and
• The font size on each slide should be no larger than 30 points.

In addition, you may find these sources useful:

• a recent article from Sifted titled “ Investors share their dos and don’ts for writing a pitch deck “; and
• an informative piece from Visme called “ 17 Pitch Deck Templates Inspired By Real-Life Startups and Businesses”

HMRC guidance on business plans

VCM60220 states that “ All companies seeking a relevant investment must have a business plan. This should be a new document produced for advance assurance, but one that has already been provided or is made available to potential independent investors as part of any company’s normal commercial arrangements for seeking investment from the market. The business plan is a key document to persuade independent investors to invest in the company and should contain the same level of detail as any potential market investor or lender, for example a bank, would expect to see ”.

VCM60220 further provides as follows: “ The level of detail (contained within the business plan) will vary depending on the size of the company, its development stage and the amount of investment the company is seeking. The larger the company and/or the investment, the greater the detail that will be required for example in terms of turnover and profit forecasts. All business plans should explain how the money is to be spent, including the relevant business activity, and give details of any follow-on funding that is likely to be needed ”.

The guidance manual then concludes by stating that: “ The business plan should also explain how the investment will lead to the company’s growth and development in terms of, for example, increased turnover or employees ”.

HMRC have issued guidance on producing business plans, which can be found here . HMRC’s guidance contains links to free business plan and cash flow forecast templates which are useful starting points. For example, you could access:

• The free business plan template on The Prince’s Trust website, which also contains a free to download financial table template.
• The free cash flow forecast template or business plan template on the Start Up Loans website.

In addition, you could access the Start Up Donut website and get detailed information and guidance on how to write a business plan .

Every business plan that we see is different due to each company being unique. If you instruct us to submit an SEIS / EIS advance assurance or compliance statement application on your behalf we would always conduct a detailed review of your business plan and suggest amendments or deletions where appropriate in accordance with the SEIS / EIS qualifying criteria.

If you would like to discuss submitting an SEIS / EIS advance assurance application, or if you would like to know more about the process and our fees, we offer a 20-minute no cost, no obligation call as a starting point. If this is of interest, please get in touch via the [email protected] email address to schedule a call with one of our fee earners.

This article is intended for general information only, applies to the law at the time of publication, is not specific to the facts of your case and is not intended to be a replacement for legal advice. It is recommended that specific professional advice is sought before relying on any of the information given. © Jonathan Lea Limited 2023. 

Five Tips on Registering Your New Business With HMRC

By Thomas Sutherland

Updated on 23 November 2023 Reading time: 5 minutes

This article meets our strict editorial principles. Our lawyers, experienced writers and legally trained editorial team put every effort into ensuring the information published on our website is accurate. We encourage you to seek independent legal advice. Learn more .

1. Choose the Right Business Structure

2. get your unique taxpayer reference (utr), 3. register for the right taxes, 4. keep accurate records, 5. comply with hmrc deadlines, key takeaways.

Starting a new business in the UK is an exciting and challenging endeavour. One of the steps during this journey is registering your business with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). This crucial step makes your business legally compliant and ensures you meet your tax obligations. This article outlines five essential tips on registering your new business with HMRC so you can navigate this process smoothly. 

Before you dive into the registration process, you must decide on the most appropriate business structure for your venture. Your chosen structure will determine: 

• your tax liabilities;
• your legal responsibilities; and 
• how you operate your business. 

In the UK, there are several business structures to consider. The most common are:

• sole traderships ;
• limited companies; and 
• traditional partnerships.

A sole trader is the simplest form of business ownership. You run the business individually and are solely responsible for its finances and liabilities. Registering as a sole trader with HMRC is relatively straightforward. You must inform HMRC that you are self-employed and complete a self-assessment tax return.

A limited company is a separate legal entity from its owners. This structure offers limited liability, meaning your personal assets are generally protected if the company incurs debts or legal issues. However, registering a limited company with HMRC is more complex. This involves incorporating your company with Companies House and registering for Corporation Tax with HMRC.

Finally, if you are starting a UK business with one or more partners, you can register as a partnership (or a limited liability partnership). In this structure, the partners share business profits and responsibilities. You must register partnerships with HMRC, and each partner must complete a self-assessment tax return.

Once you have determined your business structure, the next step is to obtain your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). A UTR is a ten-digit number HMRC assigns to identify you and your business for tax purposes. This reference is unique to you and should be used in all communications with HMRC.

If you are a sole trader, you should automatically receive your UTR when registering as self-employed. HMRC should send you a letter containing this reference within a few weeks.

If you are starting a limited company, HMRC will be notified after you incorporate your company with Companies House, and HMRC will then send you your UTR by post.

Your UTR is critical information, so keep it safe and readily accessible. You will need it to:

• file taxes;
• open a business bank account; and 
• other official business matters.

The UK tax system can be complex, and the taxes you must register for depend on your business structure and activities. For example, sole traders must complete an annual self-assessment tax return. This form reports your income and expenses and helps calculate the tax you owe.

Limited companies are subject to Corporation Tax on their profits, and will be deducted appropriately. If your business hires employees, you must operate a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) scheme for payroll and income tax deductions. Registering for PAYE is essential to ensure your employees’ taxes are correctly withheld.

Finally, sole traders and limited company directors must pay National Insurance contributions, which fund state benefits, including the state pension.

LegalVision’s Startup Manual is essential reading material for any startup founder looking to launch and grow a successful startup.

Proper record-keeping is fundamental to maintaining your financial and tax affairs. HMRC requires you to keep records of all your income, expenses, and other financial transactions.

Most UK businesses use accounting software to track income and expenses. Many software options are available. Accordingly, this makes it easier to manage your finances and generate accurate reports.

Keeping copies of all invoices, receipts, and bank statements is essential. This documentation serves as evidence for your financial transactions. If managing your finances seems overwhelming, consider hiring an accountant. They can help you maintain accurate records and ensure compliance with HMRC’s requirements.

HMRC imposes various deadlines for tax returns, payments, and other important submissions. Failing to meet these deadlines can result in penalties and interest charges.

For example, corporation tax payments are due nine months and one day after the end of your accounting period. You should file corporation tax returns within twelve months of the end of the account period.

You should also ensure that your business’ PAYE submissions and payments are made on time, usually monthly or quarterly.  

HMRC takes deadlines seriously. Accordingly, setting reminders and establishing routines for meeting your obligations is crucial. Missing deadlines can lead to unnecessary financial stress and potential legal consequences.

Registering your new business with HMRC is vital in establishing a legally compliant and financially responsible enterprise. Alongside obtaining suitable legal advice, consideration of these tips can help contribute to your business’ long-term success and sustainability, allowing you to focus on the long-term success of your UK business.

If you need legal assistance registering your new UK business with HMRC, our experienced business sale lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page . 

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Small Business UK

Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

Help and support from HMRC for new businesses

Starting a new business can be a very challenging time, but HMRC can help you out. Here's how.

HMRC has done some research and asked new small businesses what help they’d like when they’re first starting a company.

Based on their replies, HMRC has designed a range of digital products to get that help to you when you need it and in a way that suits you.

There are e-learning guides to cover many if the HMRC issues you’ll have to deal with when you’re running your own business. The  Tax guide for your self-employed business helps you to register with HMRC and keep business records. Business expenses for the self-employed guides you through the expenses you can and can’t claim.   

Use VAT – Getting started to check if you need to register for VAT and if you do, VAT – How VAT works covers charging and reclaiming VAT, records to keep and making a VAT return and payments.

If you’re taking on staff, Becoming an employer is a great starting point to help you get it right.

Thousands of businesses find these easy to use and love that they can use them as and when they need or want to.

Do you get bored reading? You might prefer to use HMRC’s webinars to get started. Webinars are online presentations.

The webinars cover a wide range of subjects.

• live webinars: book a place and switch on at the stated time. You take part by answering polling questions or asking your own questions. These usually last for one hour, including the Q&A session
• pre-recorded webinars: these are available all day every day These are about 20 to 30 minutes long.

Are you in a hurry? Download HMRC’s YouTube videos.

If you like to get information in bite-sized chunks, you’ll like these. They give you a good overview of a variety of subjects.

Are worried you’ll forget to send a tax return or make payments on time?

HMRC can send you emails to help you to understand what you need to do and when you need to do it.

There is a ready reckoner to help you to budget for your tax bills. You can use your weekly or monthly profit to get an idea of how much you’ll need to pay for tax and National Insurance.

Once you know how much you’ll need to pay, why not set up a budget payment plan ? It’s often easier to pay regular instalments during the year than pay the full amount in January and July each year.

These are just some of the products available to you.

All of these products are free and available at any time of the day or night. You can access them on PCs, tablet and mobile devices.

Here’s find the full range of HMRC webinars, email alerts and videos , have a look and see what you need. Dip in and out as and when you like.

Further reading on accounts and tax

• Five taxes you should know about when running a small business

Ben Lobel was the editor of SmallBusiness.co.uk from 2010 to 2018. He specialises in writing for start-up and scale-up companies in the areas of finance, marketing and HR. More by Ben Lobel

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What to include in your business plan for an SEIS/EIS Advance Assurance Application

5 extra tips for seis / eis pitch decks:, michael stresing.

Across the hundreds of SEIS/EIS Advance Assurance applications we see every month at SeedLegals, no two look exactly alike. HMRC are picky about having a clear and concise understanding of the company, but are flexible when it comes to how that information is presented to them.

Often, the best answer to “What should my Pitch Deck look like?” is “It should look however it looks now”. Any materials you have already prepared to show investors are usually the best starting point. Nonetheless, we suggest every pitch deck sent to HMRC, for Advance Assurance review, include the following 10 topics:

• The ‘Problem’
• Our Solution
• Our Business Model
• Intellectual Property and Structure
• Competitors and Market Size
• Risk to Capital [SWOT]
• The Team Profile
• History and Progress

These might each take several slides, depending on the stage you’re at, and the nature of the business, but for SEIS/EIS purposes it is important that the deck touches the following areas:

1. The ‘Problem’

This outlines the problem which the company is poised to fix. This isn’t too touchy or pertinent from HMRC’s perspective, but is a fairly common starting point for most pitch decks.

2. Our Solution

Following on from Slide 1, the solution slide is crucial. This must be a clear and concise statement of what the Company does. This section should cover HMRC’s requirement to see ‘details of all trading or other activities to be carried on by the company’ . Avoid Jargon, this needs to be comprehensible to someone with no sector specific knowledge!

3. Our Business Model

Here, it’s important to cover how the business will be making money. Do you have an affiliate agreement in place? Where do you charge fees? From whom are those costs taken? This section should set out a profile of who your customers are.

4. Intellectual Property and Structure

If the business has any intellectual property uses, especially regarding Patents, it would be important to include all of the details of who will be owning and licensing these rights. In addition to this it is essential to provide any relevant details on employment structure. Who will be hired? What work will be outsourced? What external software or IP will you be licensing? This type of information is essential to HMRC, especially under the new Risk to Capital condition .

5. Competitors and Market Size

Equally important, to demonstrate an understanding of the risks and marketplace, is to show a snapshot of the market. This is often demonstrated with market sizing metrics, and a chart plotting the main direct or indirect competitors. Clearly identify the customers you serve.

6. Risk to Capital [SWOT]

The clearest way to address the Risk to Capital is by including a brief  SWOT analysis with focus on the Weaknesses and Threats of your business. It’s a good idea to explain how these factors contribute to the risk of the investment and/or show the company’s objective to develop and grow.

7. The Team Profile

Within the pitch deck, it’s usual to include a slide which displays all of the founders, NED’s, and founding team. There’s not too much to worry about with SEIS / EIS here.

8. History and Progress

Typically, it’s important to provide a brief background to the project – usually to demonstrate traction. This often is presented in the form of a company timeline. This provides a more detailed indication to HMRC of when you began trading, and what the Company has been doing prior to (or since) that point. Traction should also provide some metrics associated with the current scale of the Company.  Be clear as to whether or not you are currently trading.

No worries if you’re at a very early stage – this would be a great place to demonstrate your idea valuation.

The Roadmap is potentially the most essential slide (or slides) for HMRC. It is essential that you demonstrate an intention to grow the business in the long term (especially if you work in film production or work on multiple discrete projects). Here’s more on applying for Advance Assurance as a tv / film or production company .

Here, you must set out the plans to grow the Company. This ranges from new geographical markets, new products or product-features, new lead generating streams, etc… It is also important to ensure that your roadmap for the funding is set out. How are you going to spend your thousands (or millions)? HMRC are looking for a demonstrated intention to grow, and that the SEIS and EIS funds will only be used on qualifying business activities. Check out HMRC Venture Capital Scheme Manual to read more on qualifying business activities.

10. Financials

This is often attached to the application as a separate document (as many Companies will already have a fully set out excel file covering all of the finances). The minimum requirement here is a basic chart within the business plan which sets out the 3 year (from the time of application) projected profit and losses.

If you already have a more complete file covering this, it would be best to attach this, rather than worrying about including a summary within the pitch deck.

11. The Ask

Finally, it’s common to provide a summary of your funding plans. No worries on this one! We’ve already done the work for you here, free to use our Fundraising Page template. An important note here is that you don’t Advertise SEIS or EIS eligibility until HMRC approve you. The purpose of Advance Assurance is to be able to advertise yourself as eligible, so HMRC don’t like founders making this call for themselves. (Of course, it’s totally fine to say that you are applying for SEIS and EIS, and that eligibility is pending)

• There’s no need to include page long NDA’s or FCA notices. These usually aren’t necessary. But… you should always have a ‘Capital At Risk’ slide on a pitch deck. (NDA’s don’t work in venture, so it’s a good hack to safeguard your idea).
• Don’t use fancy language, just tell it how it is.  If you are creating an Uber-esque service for hamsters, then say so, don’t call it a technology driven transportation system for Mesocricetus Auratus.
• Make sure to be careful about liberal usage of the word ‘partnerships’ and ‘partnering’! HMRC often interpret this to mean Legal LLP arrangements (which aren’t SEIS / EIS eligible). Whilst everyone loves to ‘partner’ with everyone, it is best to be clear. Some companies are better described as suppliers or distributors, or even just creative collaborators.
• Ensure to be unequivocally demonstrating a risk for investors and a long-term intention to grow!
• Be careful about mentioning exits. You are not eligible for SEIS / EIS if you have any pre-arranged exits. No start-ups we deal with fall under this category, however plenty of companies still include grand (and unwarranted) exit hypotheses.
• Of course – it is best to provide this as a PDF. Make sure this is roughly 5MB or less (the total application across all documents must be under 8MB). If your file is too large, we suggest using www.smallpdf.com

If you are uncertain on any of the above, it’s best to reach out to us directly! We’ve seen hundreds of SEIS/EIS applications, and provide all of our customers with a detailed review of their Pitch Deck. Hit the chat feature in the bottom right corner to speak to a member of the team!

And if you’re not already using SeedLegals, here’s how easy we make it easy to secure Advance Assurance from HMRC .

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• Partnership Tax

Changing how business profits are taxed from 2023/24 – basis period reform

Core reforms.

The key reforms involve moving from the ‘current year’ basis to a ‘tax year’ basis, meaning that business profits will be calculated for the tax year rather than for the period of account (ie their accounting year) ending in the tax year. This would align the treatment of trading income with non-trading income.

The move to this new tax year basis will involve a transitional (catch-up) year for many sole traders and partnerships that do not use 5 April or 31 March as their accounting date. This will advance tax liabilities for many. The original proposal was to make this change from 2023/24, but the change has been delayed until 2024/25, with 2023/24 as a transitional year.

The proposals are now detailed in draft legislation (Finance Bill 2022), and it is hoped there may also be further administrative easements before the changes come into effect. The proposals follow the general direction of travel for the reform of the Self-Assessment regime, including changes under Making Tax Digital (now also delayed until 2024), as well as the recently closed call for evidence on timely payments (which suggests that the acceleration of Self-Assessment payments may be on the horizon).

New tax year basis

Moving to the tax year basis period will require businesses to report for the 6 April – 5 April tax year for trading purposes, regardless of their actual period of account. For practical purposes, the proposed rules allow the periods to be apportioned by reference to months if it is reasonable to do so and this is applied consistently. Businesses with non-tax year periods of account would be required to apportion profits or losses across periods of account to adjust their results to the tax year basis. For any periods where accounts are not yet finalised, this apportionment will require estimation and subsequent finalisation.

Comparison example

A business makes up its accounts to 30 June annually.

On the current year basis , its basis period for the 2024/25 tax year would be:

• Profits of the year to 30 June 2024 (ie the accounting period ending within the tax year).

Under the tax year basis , the business will report for the 12 months to 31 March 2025, so the apportionment would be:

• 3/12 of its profits/losses for the period of account to 30 June 2024, PLUS
• 9/12 of its profits/losses for the period of account to 30 June 2025. 

Note that if the accounts to 30 June 2025 are not finalised, then these 9 months’ profits/losses will have to be estimated for submission of the 2024/25 tax return, and the tax return subsequently amended once the accounts are finalised.

The additional administrative burden of producing estimates is acknowledged, and HMRC has now suggested options for reducing the impact that it will consult on further ahead of the transition year, including:

• Allowing taxpayers to amend a provisional figure at the same time as they file their return for the following tax year
• Allowing an extension of the filing deadline for some groups of taxpayers, such as more complex partnerships or seasonal trades
• Allowing taxpayers to include in the next year’s tax return any differences between provisional and actual figures in the previous year
• Leaving the current rules on provisional figures unchanged, whereby profits can be estimated in a return and amended as soon as final figures become available.

The legislation will also treat periods of account drawn up to 31 March as equivalent to the end of the normal tax year (5 April) so no further apportionment would be required.

Phasing out overlap profits

Commencement, cessation and changes of accounting dates will no longer require the complex opening year and cessation rules, as the relevant periods will simply run to and from the end of the tax years respectively. This will eliminate ‘overlap’ profits and the need for overlap relief in the years after the changes. However, the proposed transitional arrangements do provide for use of existing accrued overlap relief.

Transitional year

The tax year of transition will be 6 April 2023 – 5 April 2024. In 2023/24, continuing businesses will be taxable on their profits on the current year basis (ie for the 12 months to their accounting date in 2023/24, plus the period up to the end of the tax year (ie 31 March for simple apportionment). Depending on the accounting date of the business, this could bring almost up to two years’ profits into charge for the year: businesses with 30 April year-ends could be particularly impacted. Given this could lead to a significantly increased tax bill, the proposals provide for the excess profit to be spread over a period of five tax years to mitigate the cashflow impacts (although individuals can elect to be taxed on the transition profit in any way they choose over the five spreading years – including on the full amount in 2023/24 if they wish).

In addition, following strong representations to the government, including from BDO, the latest draft legislation includes clauses intended to remove some of the more unfair impacts of the transitional catch-up. Complex rules will mean that, while transitional profits will be taxed on individuals in the five year “spreading” period (or solely in 2023/24 if the taxpayer opts for that), they should not affect the level of the taxpayer’s income that is used to calculate things like their entitlement to certain reliefs and benefits (such as Child Benefit, pension contributions etc): the transitional profit will now create a ‘stand-alone tax charge’. However, in some circumstances, the transitional rules may still push some taxpayers into a higher income tax band – particularly if they opt out of spreading.

The way that the stand-alone tax charge was originally proposed to be included in an individual’s tax calculation meant that it may not have been possible to claim double tax relief where any element of the individual’s profit had been taxed overseas (ie where a partnership had profits from other jurisdictions). It also meant that the transitional profit would always have been taxed – ie it would not have been possible to claim income tax relief (such as for EIS, SEIS and VCT investments) against the transitional profit. The amendments proposed on 27 January 2022 will include the stand-alone tax charge at a different step of the individual’s tax calculation for the year (each year when spreading). This means that it will be possible to claim double tax relief where relevant, and that an individual can claim income tax relief for relevant investments against the stand-alone tax amount (as well as their other income in that year).

While it is good news that, in principle, overseas taxes suffered on foreign profits arising in the transitional period will now be relievable, there will nevertheless be practical difficulties in determining the foreign tax credits that can be claimed. This will be particularly complex where the transition period profits are spread over multiple years (up to five years).

Basic example of transitional rules

XYZ LLP is a professional services firm with 40 members. It draws up its accounts to 30 April, and profit for the 12 months to 30 April 2023 is £20 million.

Current rules

For the 2023/24 tax year, assuming all members are on the current year basis:

• Members’ basis period would be - 12 months to 30 April 2023, and
• Members would be taxed on their shares of the profit of £20 million (in total, paying approximately £9 million income tax and NIC).

New transitional rules

Under these proposals, on transition to the tax year basis in 2023/24, continuing members would be taxable on:

• Their share of profits of the 12 months to 30 April 2023, plus
• Their share of 11/12ths of the profits to 30 April 2024.

This brings the profits taxed into line with the tax year basis to 31 March 2024, but results in 23 months of profit being taxed in the transitional 2023/24 tax year.

The firm estimates its profits for the additional 11 months to be a further £20 million, which, added to the £20 million for the period of account to 30 April 2023, brings a total of £40 million of partnership profits into charge in the transitional year.

The members have an aggregate of £5 million overlap relief which will be required to be claimed in the transition year, leaving them taxable on their shares of £35 million. Without the automatic five year spreading of profits rule, this would result in approximately £16 million total income tax and NIC due - £7 million more than on the current year basis – an average of £175,000 more per member.

Another positive move is that the updated legislation appears to allow for transitional profits to be calculated for 2023/24 and to be spread over five years even if the business changes its accounting date in that year: something many businesses are considering is moving their accounting date to 31 March or 5 April, to make future annual administrative processes easier.

Partnership matters

The original consultation on these reforms identified some specific partnership issues.

The tax year basis will reduce the complexity of joiners and leavers having different bases of assessment to other partners, as the commencement and cessation rules will no longer apply. Specific rules for partnerships with trading and other sources of income can also be removed, as individuals will report and pay tax on all partnership income on a tax year basis.

Joiner/leaver example

Note that while John pays tax on the same profits under both sets of rules over the four-year period, moving to the tax year basis will mean paying tax on some profits earlier than under the current rules. Calculations are rounded to months.

Practical impacts

In the short term, while the rules may simplify certain technical and practical matters, firms that do not make their accounts up to 31 March/5 April will need to consider the impact of the proposed changes on their cash flow: particularly for the transitional year 2023/24 which could see partners paying tax on significantly increased amounts of profit. The impacts will continue to be felt going forward, as the changes close the timing gap between profits accruing and being brought into charge.

These changes may be particularly challenging for large professional service firms with complex financial and tax affairs, and the impacts will need to be carefully considered and prepared for ahead of the transitional year. The one-year deferral is welcome, but businesses would be well advised to make sure that they make the best use of the extra time available.

In the longer term, the reforms will remove some of the cashflow advantages of operating through a partnership model and make it harder for partnerships to finance their working capital. It is possible that some firms will want to consider the pros and cons of a move to a corporate structure in due course.

The ongoing requirement to apportion and/or estimate profits of consecutive accounting periods may lead many businesses to consider changing their accounting date to align with the tax year. Again, this would require careful consideration, particularly for larger partnerships with complex accounting processes, and other factors would need to be taken into account. For example, some international partnerships may have a preference for a 31 December accounting date due to tax rules in other countries. The OTS is currently evaluating the pros and cons of changing the UK’s tax year end to either 31 March or 31 December, the latter being considered the more radical option, but acknowledging that there may be benefits in aligning the UK with the majority of international tax regimes. Therefore, more changes could be coming in the longer term.

There are a number of other areas of concern that arise on the transition to the new rules, many of which are not addressed to date, including:

• Where allocations are made on a fiscal year basis, how apportioning across tax years impacts on tax adjustments, joiners and leavers who may be allocated profit for the whole fiscal year but are only a partner in one tax year, and on capital allowances claims,
• For UK-resident members of related UK and overseas firms, whether they will have sufficient UK profits in the transitional year to utilise the previously created overlap
• How to identify relevant foreign tax credits with the many adjustments and apportionments required.

BDO’s Professional Services team is one of the largest in the UK, and the team are experts in dealing with a range of businesses in sectors from legal, recruiting, consultancy to private equity and asset management. We can help you to analyse the impact that the reforms will have on your business, prepare financial projections, and consider any remedial action that may be appropriate.

To learn more about the problems these changes will cause, please visit our Professional Services Hub where you can read our response to HMRC’s consultation and our blog: Basis period reform and onging concern considerations.

For help and advice, please contact Neil Williams or Jitendra Patel .

Who do I need to tell about my new business? When do I tell HMRC?

by Fern Robinson | Jan 31, 2023

Once you’ve set up your new business, the first thing that you want to do is make sure you get the word out and make sure that you get all the right information out to the right people.

Watch our video for some useful guidance.

What are the first steps to take?

The main body that needs notifying straight away is HMRC, whether it be for taxes, National Insurance Contribution or VAT.

If you are setting up a Sole Trader or a Partnership, then you must notify HMRC by registering online. This will have to be done before the 5th October following the end of the tax year in which the business has started.

If you are registering as a Limited Company, then Companies House will notify HMRC for you. HMRC will then send your newly formed company a form that must be completed and returned within three months.

Is there anyone else I need to notify?

Depending on what type of business you have decided to set up, there are possibly several people that you should inform.

If you have decided to set your business up from home, then firstly you may have to notify the local council. There you will be assessed on whether you’re required to pay any business rates.

You may need to notify your mortgage company, or at least just check that your mortgage allows a business to operate from the mortgage premises.

If you rent your property, then you may just want to check your contract as some tenancy agreements prohibit running a business from home. Sometimes it can just be a matter of courtesy to let your landlord know about what you’re planning on doing.

Then, lastly, check your house and contents insurance companies. You can then check to see if they can offer you any cover for the business assets so that everything is protected.

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Register your business

Most businesses register as a sole trader, limited company or partnership.

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It’s simpler to set up as a sole trader, but you’re personally responsible for your business’s debts. You also have some accounting responsibilities.

Find out more about being a sole trader and how to register .

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Some people get help from a professional, for example an accountant, but you can set up a company yourself.

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A partnership is the simplest way for 2 or more people to run a business together.

You share responsibility for your business’s debts. You also have accounting responsibilities. Find out more about being in a partnership and how to register .

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• sell goods online
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Where you work

Check what your responsibilities are if you:

• run your business from home
• rent somewhere to run your business from

If you rent or buy a property, you may have to pay business rates . Small businesses can apply for a discount on business rates and some may pay nothing.

Check if you can claim office, property and equipment as expenses .

Taking on people to help

If you take on agency workers or freelancers you have some responsibilities, for example their health and safety.

Becoming an employer

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• running payroll
• paying for their National Insurance - but you can claim an allowance to reduce your bill
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• News & insights
• HMRC 6 July deadline for online reporting of UK employee share awards
• Share this page

Claire Matthews

Megan Geiser

• On this page

4 June 2024

Less than five weeks to go - HMRC 6 July deadline for online reporting of UK employee share awards

Ers annual returns – actions to take for the 2023/2024 tax year.

If your business offers UK employee share plans, growth shares or share awards, you need to do the following by 6 July 2024 for the 2023/2024 tax year:

• complete end of year reporting for share plans and arrangements
• register all new share plans and arrangements on the HMRC online system
• self-certify new tax-favoured share plans.

If you don't take the above actions in time, you will be subject to automatic penalties and will lose the tax-favoured treatment for certain share options.

The following automatic penalties will apply:

• immediate £100 penalty for filing after the deadline of 6 July 2024
• additional £300 penalty if filing is three months late
• additional £300 penalty if filing is six months late.

There is also a £10 per day penalty if the filing is more than nine months late and HMRC decides to impose such daily penalty.

There is also a penalty of up to £5,000 for a material inaccuracy in a return which is not immediately addressed.

What do you need to do?

If any reportable events have taken place concerning either tax-favoured plans or non tax-favoured plans and arrangements during the 2023/2024 tax year, you will need to report them. "Arrangements" include the acquisition of employment-related securities by employees and directors generally, not just under a formal plan. This would include growth shares and the acquisition of restricted and unrestricted shares.

Reportable events include the following:

• grant of options
• exercise of options
• certain lapses of options
• the acquisition of shares
• events under the restricted shares legislation and anti-avoidance rules.

You will need to register all new employee share plans and arrangements online. You will also need to self-certify that any new tax-favoured share plans (EMI, CSOP, SIP and SAYE) meet certain requirements.

If you have not used the HMRC website for employment-related securities already, you will not be able to complete your end of year reporting until you have registered your plan or arrangement with HMRC. This can take over two weeks, so you don't want to leave it until the last minute!

Nothing to report?

If you have previously registered a plan or arrangement but have no reportable events for the 2023/2024 tax year, you must submit a "nil return" to avoid automatic penalties arising for a non-filing.

Here to help

Please get in touch with a member of our Employee Incentives team  if you need assistance or any further information.

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Hochul Halts Congestion Pricing in a Stunning 11th-Hour Shift

Weeks before New York was to charge motorists to enter Manhattan’s business district, Gov. Kathy Hochul postponed the program, citing economic concerns.

By Grace Ashford

Reporting from the State Capitol in Albany, N.Y.

Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York announced on Wednesday that she was shelving the long-awaited tolling plan known as congestion pricing, just weeks before it was to go into effect.

“After careful consideration I have come to the difficult decision that implementing the planned congestion pricing system risks too many unintended consequences,” Ms. Hochul said, adding: “I have directed the M.T.A. to indefinitely pause the program.”

The move angered environmentalists, transit advocates and economists , with some accusing the governor of abandoning a plan that was decades in the making for political reasons in a critical election year.

The decision, Ms. Hochul acknowledged, was not an easy one, but she said it was nonetheless crucial in light of the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic on working families and New York City’s economy.

The congestion pricing plan , the first of its kind in the nation, was slated to start June 30 . Drivers using E-ZPass would have paid as much as $15 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street.

The governor said she feared that instituting a toll to drive into the borough would “create another obstacle to our economic recovery.”

“Let’s be real: A $15 charge may not seem like a lot to someone who has the means, but it can break the budget of a hard-working middle-class household,” Ms. Hochul said.

In the days before her announcement, the governor notified the White House and the top House Democrat, Hakeem Jeffries, of her plans, according to two people familiar with the conversations.

They disputed reports that Mr. Jeffries had directed Ms. Hochul to delay the plan, saying that he had remained neutral on the issue.

“To the extent immediate implementation of congestion pricing is being reconsidered, Leader Jeffries supports a temporary pause of limited duration to better understand the financial impact on working-class New Yorkers,” said Andy Eichar, a spokesman for Mr. Jeffries.

Word of the governor’s last-minute misgivings began to circulate in Albany on Tuesday night, and quickly sent shock waves through the New York State Capitol by Wednesday morning, the penultimate day of the legislative session.

Few lawmakers could say they loved congestion pricing and the optics of taxing constituents. But the proposal was championed by economists and environmentalists alike as the solution not only to the financial woes of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that runs New York’s subways and buses, but also the city’s infamous gridlock.

The program was also being contested in court by eight separate lawsuits, with plaintiffs including the Trucking Association of New York and Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey .

Mr. Murphy’s case in particular, which is being argued in Federal District Court in Newark, was regarded as the most serious challenge to congestion pricing. State officials are seeking a more comprehensive environmental study of the program.

But in New York, most Democrats had made a grudging peace with the plan after decades of debate, hearings, studies and planning — none more publicly than Ms. Hochul, who had defended it as a necessary step toward rebuilding New York’s economy.

Just two weeks ago, the governor told attendees at the Global Economic Summit in Ireland that implementing congestion pricing was critical to “making cities more livable.”

Many key players in New York politics, from Albany to New York City, expressed dismay at the reversal, which cast the transportation authority’s finances into uncertainty.

“I’m very upset that suddenly, out of the blue, this would pop up,” State Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, said on Wednesday, adding: “If we stop congestion pricing now we’re never going to get it.”

Kate Slevin of the Regional Plan Association, a nonprofit urban research and advocacy group that has championed the tolling program, called the move “a total betrayal of New Yorkers and our climate.”

The president of the Partnership for New York City, Kathryn Wylde, said the governor’s decision was a disappointment and that she hoped the pause would be temporary.

Yet an undercurrent of support for Ms. Hochul’s move was also evident among lawmakers, particularly those representing swing districts.

“Many see it as welcome news,” said James Skoufis, a Democrat who represents Orange County in the State Senate, adding that despite the plan’s approval five years earlier, opposition had been growing in the Legislature. “Some of it is outspoken, some of it is quieter, but it is widespread.”

Shortly after Ms. Hochul’s announcement, U.S. Representative Pat Ryan, a Democrat facing a tough re-election race in the northern exurbs of New York City, sent out a statement taking partial credit for defeating the plan.

“Since Day 1, I’ve fought alongside countless Hudson Valley families against this unfair, uninformed and unacceptable congestion pricing plan,” Mr. Ryan said. “Today, I’m proud to say we’ve stopped congestion pricing in its tracks.”

Indeed, the plan has been largely unpopular in suburban areas of the Hudson Valley and Long Island where Democrats are desperate to make gains this cycle.

A Siena poll from April found that 72 percent of New York suburbs opposed congestion pricing. Statewide, the number is lower, but still a majority — including 54 percent of Democrats.

Transit experts say that such opposition is common among communities acclimating to tolling plans, but not always lasting.

“We know from the experiences of other cities that have implemented congestion pricing that public support is at its nadir right before implementation,” said Nicholas Klein, an assistant professor of city and regional planning at Cornell University. “That is when the public, media and politicians panic. But time and again, we see that the sky does not fall.”

In her address, Ms. Hochul stressed her commitment to public transit, and ensuring that the transportation authority had the funding it needed to complete long overdue capital projects. But she said that the city’s outlook had changed since the plan was approved in 2019.

“Workers were in the office five days a week, crime was at record lows and tourism was at record highs,” she said. “Circumstances have changed and we must respond to the facts on the ground.”

The decision has the awkward effect of bringing Ms. Hochul, a centrist Democrat who has at times served as a surrogate for President Biden, into alignment with former President Donald J. Trump, who has derided the plan , as well as her predecessor, Andrew M. Cuomo, who championed the concept as governor but now questions its timing.

To halt implementation of the plan, Ms. Hochul needs only the approval of the authority’s board, which she controls. But without the projected $1 billion a year for the city’s buses and subways, the transit system could quickly fall into crisis.

Ms. Hochul could fill that gap, at least temporarily, with money from the state’s reserves. But she is also said to be looking at a more durable revenue source, possibly in the form of a tax on city businesses, which would require the approval of the State Legislature.

The transportation agency has already invested heavily in infrastructure to implement the pricing plan, including $507 million it paid to a Nashville company.

In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams endorsed Ms. Hochul’s move. “I think that if she’s looking at analyzing what other ways we can do it and how we do it correctly, I’m all for it,” Mr. Adams said Wednesday at an unrelated news conference on Staten Island.

Mr. Adams, who has not been a strong proponent of congestion pricing, said he was worried that charging vehicles to enter Lower Manhattan would be an undue burden for “everyday New Yorkers” and potentially affect the city’s economic recovery from the pandemic.

“We have to get it right,” the mayor said, noting that he had been communicating with the governor over the last few days. “This is a major shift in our city and it must be done correctly.”

Reporting was contributed by Nicholas Fandos , Jeffery C. Mays and Claire Fahy .

Grace Ashford covers New York government and politics for The Times. More about Grace Ashford

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Walmart offers new perks for workers, from a new bonus plan to opportunities in skilled trade jobs

Walmart is offering new perks for its hourly workers

NEW YORK — Walmart is offering new perks for its hourly U.S. workers, ranging from a new bonus plan to opportunities to move into skilled trade jobs within the company.

The perks program announced Wednesday comes as the nation’s largest private employer says it’s seeing a decline in worker turnover. But Walmart, like other employers, faces a still-competitive labor market and increasing demands from its employees .

Walmart’s new bonus plan for eligible part-time and full-time U.S. store workers — including those in its pharmacy and Vision Centers — is based on their store’s performance, with the maximum bonus potential also tied to years of experience.

For example, a full-time worker who’s been with Walmart between one year and almost five years can earn a maximum bonus of $350 per year, while a 20-year full-time worker can earn a maximum bonus of $1,000, Walmart said. The plan will be available to 700,000 U.S. workers, the company said.

In January, Walmart announced its U.S. store managers would receive up to $20,000 in Walmart stock grants every year.

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The company, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, is also launching a training program for hourly workers in its U.S. stores and supply networks that will give them an opportunity to move into roles in facilities maintenance, refrigeration, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and automation. Walmart said it is looking to increase these skilled trades workers from 450 to roughly 2,000 in the next two years.

The jobs pay between $19 and $45 per hour, and workers will be paid during the training, the company said. Walmart’s average hourly wage is close to $18, an increase of 30% over the past five years. Walmart’s starting wages for U.S. workers range between $14 and $19 an hour.

The training program is expected to start with 100 workers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It is part of the Walmart Academy, one of the largest skill-development programs in the country.

Last month, Walmart reported another quarter of strong results as its low prices pull in shoppers scouring for discounts amid stubbornly high inflation .

Households with incomes exceeding $100,000 have been drawn to the retailer as it upgrades the quality of its items and focuses on providing more convenient ways to shop. Two-thirds of Walmart’s market share gains across the aisles are coming from that group, Walmart said.

Walmart said the skilled trades initiative is similar to a program it announced two years ago that gave employees who work in its distribution and fulfillment centers a chance to become certified Walmart truck drivers through a 12-week program taught by the company’s established drivers.

At the time, it said it was raising pay for its 12,000 truck drivers. The starting range for new drivers is now between $95,000 and $110,000 a year. The retailer said that $87,500 had been the average that new truck drivers could make in their first year.

Walmart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield said the trucker program has produced more than 500 new drivers since launching in the spring of 2022. That’s helped the company navigate an industrywide shortage of truck drivers.

Walmart has similar training and development programs for pharmacy tech and opticians.

Meanwhile, Walmart said Wednesday it is expanded the number of skills certificates available to help fast-track front-line workers into about 100,000 jobs that are higher paying and in demand at the company over the next three years.

In 2020, the company offered five skilled certificates. Now, there are 50. They include topics such as front-line manager leadership, people and business leadership, data science, software development and project management.

Employees can earn the certificates in four months, according to Lo Stomski, Walmart’s senior vice president and chief talent officer.

Walmart highlighted its worker training efforts as it prepares to hold two big events this week. A virtual shareholders’ meeting is set for Wednesday. On Friday, the company is holding a celebration of its workers at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to recognize Walmart’s employees from around the world as well as shareholders.

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Nigeria may spend 50% more on fuel subsidies in 2024, draft document shows.

Nigeria will likely spend 5.4 trillion naira ($3.7 billion) in 2024 - 50% more than in 2023 - to keep petrol prices fixed, while borrowing an extra 6.6 trillion naira to plug gaps in its budget, a draft document seen by Reuters showed on Thursday.