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Finance (No. 2) Bill

I am sure that hon. Members on both sides of the House agree with the point that my hon. Friend makes. If people are to make long-term investments, they need a degree of long-term certainty, and I understand that these provisions are intended to be long-term. Clause 91 also doubles the annual limit for investments under the enterprise investment scheme to £400,000. That will incentivise greater investment in small growth companies across our economy. We have boosted support for effective venture capital, too. Financial services in general and the City in particular are crucial sources of wealth and prosperity for the UK, and venture capital plays an invaluable role in investing in our businesses and promoting economic growth. To ensure that the industry has a solid foundation for stable fundraising and continued growth, the Bill guarantees the rate of income tax relief for investments in venture capital trusts at 30 per cent. for the rest of this Parliament. The chief executive of the British Venture Capital Association, Peter Linthwaite, has backed that. He said that it means that we have"““listened to the BVCA about the important role VCTs play in bringing investment to the smaller, entrepreneurial sector of the market””." Enterprise, productivity and competition can be no better symbolised than by the Olympics and the Paralympics, which we have the honour of hosting in 2012. Those games will be a once-in-a-lifetime event for this country, and we can do our bit with the Bill by delivering on the commitments that we made as part of the original bid. Among other things, the measures exempt the London Organising Committee of the Olympic games from corporation tax and provide powers to ensure that the International Olympic Committee will not have a taxable presence in the UK.