Ambitious employees held back by Government’s refusal to allow tax relief on self-funded training and development

Low-income workers let down by tax rules

The Government's refusal to allow employees to claim tax relief on self-funded training is holding back ambitious workers and stifling career growth.

Robert Salter, Director, Global Mobility, said:

“Mr. Hunt’s refusal to allow employees to claim tax relief on any training and development costs that they incur personally and that have a clear business purpose for them is stifling career growth. While employer-provided training is a ‘tax-free perk’, the fact that workers cannot get any tax relief for their own personally incurred training costs means that the ambitious are being held back by the tax system.”

This will particularly affect low-income workers, such as those who may be looking to retrain for a new industry and younger workers who are looking to increase or improve their skillset to advance their career.

If the government wants more growth in technology and science, as stated in the Spring Budget, training in those areas needs to be more accessible and not only available to those who can afford it without claiming tax back for training and development costs.

Whilst the government consistently and validly claims that the tax system (and tax rates) drive people’s actions and behaviours, it is sad to see that they continually avoid making changes to many areas of the tax system that hinder innovation and individuals’s personal growth and risk-taking. If the government is serious about encouraging hard work, ambition, and the general upskilling of British workers, they should immediately change the rules in this area.

Would you like to know more?

If you have any questions about the above or would like to discuss your specific circumstance, please get in touch with your usual Blick Rothenberg contact or Robert Salter using the form below.