In this week’s issue of Perennial Gale, I dig into one of the few policy areas guaranteed to rile entrepreneurs: tax. A new report from the Tony Blair Institute outlines a series of corporate tax reforms, many of which align with proposals we’ve long championed to support the startup world. Chief among them is full expensing for capital investment – including for intangibles vital to tech startups – and a Commercial Landowner Levy to replace Business Rates, an idea developed by our Adviser Andrew Dixon. These are reforms that would remove disincentives to invest and support a more productive, innovative economy.

But I’m not in full agreement with all of their ideas. The call, for example, to scrap Business Asset Disposal Relief (formerly Entrepreneurs’ Relief) is misguided. While critics argue it’s poorly targeted, many of Britain’s most successful founders have told us that it’s been a major factor in their decision to start and stay here. With the relief already sharply reduced, now is the time to refine it – not abolish it. We’re keen to gather stronger evidence to show how the right kind of targeted relief can support serial entrepreneurship in the UK. As ever, if you think BADR is worth defending, I want to hear from you.

In addition, we’re launching a new meetup group for entrepreneurship ecosystem builders, and ploughing ahead with phase two of our WhatsApp Community.