Now that conference season is over and the MPs were back to Parliament, the business of getting Finance (No.2) Bill 2017 through Parliament picked up again last month.

The Committee of the Whole House met on 11 October to consider Clause 5 on termination payments, Clause 15 on business investment relief and Clause 25 on the Northern Ireland corporation tax regime. The Bill was reported with no further amendment. The remainder of the Bill was examined by the Public Bill Committee (PBC) on 17 and 19 October.

The PBC also met again with the debates on the Bill concluding by 26 October, thus completing Committee Stage of the Bill. The Bill then proceeded to Report Stage.

In relation to the NI Corporation tax regime, the Corporation Tax (Northern Ireland) Act 2015 is to be amended so that SMEs who do not meet the SME test in the legislation will be able to avail of the regime for large companies if they have a Northern Ireland regional establishment (NIRE). This particular point was recommended by the Northern Ireland Tax Committee in its submission on the draft NICT rate legislation in 2015.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2017 will give an option for an SME which is not a NI employer but has a NIRE to elect to use the large company rules for identifying profits and losses to which the NI rate applies.