THE RATE RISES · ALREADY IN FORCE
10%→18%
+£80,000
Already added.
Tax on a fully qualifying £1m gain rose from £100,000 at 10% to £180,000 at 18%.
6 April 202510% → 14%
6 April 202614% → 18%
A CAMPAIGN FOR BRITAIN'S BUSINESS OWNERS
ENOUGH
IS ENOUGH.
You built it. You took the risk.
Now they're moving the finish line.
First, the tax rate rose from 10% to 18%. Now the government plans to halve the amount of gain eligible for Business Asset Disposal Relief (formerly Entrepreneurs’ Relief; preceded by business asset taper relief). We’re calling for a rethink. Help us make the case.
Independent. Non-party-political. Unapologetically on the side of business owners.
01 / THE DOUBLE HIT
ONE £1M GAIN. THREE DIFFERENT TAX BILLS.
FIRST THE RATE.
NOW THE LIMIT.
Quietly eroding our
hard-earned gains.Two rate rises. Now a planned cut to the lifetime limit.
Here’s what that can mean in pounds.
THE LIMIT CUT · ANNOUNCED FOR APRIL 2027
£1m→£500k
+£30,000
Another hit.
With only £500,000 eligible for BADR, the other £500,000 is taxed at 24% instead of 18% in this example.
The lifetime limit would be cut by 50%.THE COMBINED CHANGE · SAME £1M GAIN
£100,000
↓
£210,000
↓
£210,000
£110,000
More in tax.
Compared with the earlier 10% rate and £1m lifetime limit. That is the scale of the change we’re challenging.
Try the illustration ↗Illustration, not a personal tax calculation: £1m gain that otherwise qualifies for BADR; no previous BADR claims; 24% on gains above the announced cap; no Founders’ Relief. Ignores allowances, losses, costs and other reliefs. The limit cut is an announced proposal; legislation is still to be introduced. Check the sources ↗
02 / THIS IS PERSONAL
28 YEARS
BUILDING.
ONE MOVING
FINISH LINE.
Small businesses keep Britain working.
Their owners deserve a fair exit.
The late nights. The uncertainty. The responsibility for keeping a business going. A sale can be the moment an owner finally realises the value of decades of work. We believe that contribution deserves respect, not another moving finish line.
I have worked for 28 years as an entrepreneur, expecting a cash-out, and I’m just about to do that.
PhilBusiness owner. Campaign initiator.
Business owners shouldn’t be treated as the government’s fallback tax plan.
Our campaign position: recognise the work, respect the risk and give owners a tax system they can plan around.
03 / “BUT WHAT ABOUT FOUNDERS’ RELIEF?”
£10M TURNOVER?
NO? THEN
YOU'RE OUT.
A new relief that many smaller businesses cannot use is no answer for the owners it leaves behind.
£10m
Minimum turnover in the accounting period before disposal.
15
Qualifying full-time employees. Directors, contractors and agency workers don’t count.
Under the proposed rules, both conditions must be met. There are further ownership conditions and two of three growth or R&D tests to satisfy.
Read the Treasury’s proposed criteria ↗Founders’ Relief is a proposal under consultation. It is not a universal replacement for BADR.
THE TURNOVER THRESHOLD IN CONTEXT98.1%BELOW THE ENTRY BAR.
How many businesses
does £10 million leave behind?
98.1% of UK VAT/PAYE-registered company enterprises in the latest ONS data have turnover below £10m. That is 2,113,885 out of 2,155,400 in the ONS Company (including Building Society) category.
Only 1.9% meet the turnover threshold in this snapshot. They would still need to satisfy the other proposed conditions.
Check the ONS data ↗What this statistic measures
Our calculation from ONS UK business: activity, size and location 2026, Table 15, UK row: 2,113,885 ÷ 2,155,400 × 100. The data cover VAT and/or PAYE-registered statistical enterprises in the Company (including Building Society) category, not every Companies House registration or every business legal form. Snapshot: 13 March 2026; most turnover relates to 2024/25, with some earlier data or estimates. Counts are rounded to multiples of five. This is not a forecast of turnover at disposal or a measure of overall relief eligibility.
04 / WHAT WE’RE ASKING FOR
RETHINK THE CUT.
RESPECT THE WORK.
This campaign supports entrepreneurship and fair taxation. We’re challenging repeated changes that undermine owners’ ability to plan.
Stop halving the lifetime limit.
Retain the £1m BADR limit instead of cutting it to £500,000.
Reconsider the rate increases.
Review the move from 10% to 18% and its impact on owners approaching a sale.
Protect people who planned ahead.
Provide fair transitional arrangements and hear from businesses excluded by the proposed Founders’ Relief thresholds.
05 / MAKE IT TANGIBLE
WHAT DOES
THE CHANGE
LOOK LIKE?
This is the same gain, compared under three sets of rules. Move the slider to explore the effect.
Read the assumptions
Gain up to £1m, fully eligible for BADR apart from the announced limit; no previous claims. Earlier tax uses 10% and the £1m cap; current tax uses 18% and the £1m cap; announced tax uses 18% on up to £500,000 and 24% above it. Excludes allowances, losses, sale costs, Founders’ Relief and other reliefs. Not personal tax advice.
£
£0£1,000,000
Earlier · 10%, £1m cap£100,000
Current · 18%, £1m cap£180,000
Announced · £500k cap£210,000
Combined additional tax£110,000
A gain is the profit from disposal, not simply the selling price.
06 / DON’T JUST SHAKE YOUR HEAD
MAKE.
SOME.
NOISE.
If this feels unfair,
say so where it counts.
You don’t have to be selling tomorrow to care about the rules. Help make the case for a fair exit.
Start with our draft. Make it yours. You choose whether to send it.
Your story.
Your MP.
Explain what building your business took and what the changes mean for you.
Know another
business owner?
Share the campaign with someone who deserves to know what is changing.
A consultation.
A chance to speak.
Founders’ Relief consultation closes 30 November 2026. Tell the Treasury who its proposed criteria leave out.
LOUD ABOUT THE ISSUE. CLEAR ABOUT THE FACTS.
CHECK OUR WORK.
We distinguish changes already in force from proposals. The government says 75% of BADR claimants would be unaffected by the limit cut. Our concern is the owners who are affected, and the stability of long-term planning.
01 HMRC: the 10%, 14% and 18% rates ↗02 HMRC: the announced lifetime-limit cut ↗03 Treasury: proposed Founders’ Relief ↗04 HMRC: standard CGT rates ↗05 ONS: company enterprises by turnover ↗06 HMRC: Entrepreneurs’ Relief and the BADR name ↗07 Commons Library: taper relief and the 2008 reforms ↗
Policy sources checked 30 October 2026. Campaign arguments are our position, not government findings. Individual eligibility and tax depend on circumstances.