To support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in accessing a broader pool of lenders, the government plans to designate the following credit reference agencies (CRAs) under the Small and Medium Sized Business (Credit Information) Regulations 2015 (a draft version of which was published earlier in November 2015): Experian, Equifax and CreditSafe. The Regulations, which will be made under the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, will impose a duty on designated banks to provide specified information about their SME customers to designated CRAs, and a duty on designated CRAs to provide such information to other lenders, subject to the agreement of the business to which the information relates.

These measures are intended to improve the ability of challenger banks and alternative finance providers to conduct accurate risk assessments on SMEs and, by levelling the playing field between providers, make it easier for SMEs to seek a loan from a lender other than their bank (see Legal updates, Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015: issues for finance lawyers and March 2015 Budget: implications for finance lawyers: Competition in SME lending: credit data sharing).

(2015 Autumn Statement and Spending Review, paragraphs 1.221 and 3.101.)

In the Budget Report of March 2015, the government had announced that it would consult on whether to extend Individual Saving Account (ISA) eligible investments to include debt securities and equity offered by companies through crowdfunding platforms (see Legal update, March 2015 Budget: implications for finance lawyers: Peer-to-peer lending). Following a public consultation exploring the issue, the government concluded that the list of qualifying investments for the new Innovative Finance ISA will be extended in Autumn 2016 to include certain debt securities offered on crowdfunding platforms. The government believes this will provide ISA holders with greater choice over how to invest and will support the crowdfunding sector to continue to grow as a source of alternative finance for businesses. In addition, the government will continue to explore the case for extending the list to include equity crowdfunding.

(2015 Autumn Statement and Spending Review, paragraph 3.33.)

The government will extend the availability of the £40 billion UK Guarantees Scheme to March 2021, to continue to help infrastructure projects raise finance from banks and the capital markets.

For more information on the government's guarantee schemes, see Practice note, Government finance initiatives.

(2015 Autumn Statement and Spending Review, paragraphs 1.194 and 3.104.)

The government has announced that shares transferred to a clearance service or depositary receipt issuer as a result of the exercise of an option will be subject to stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax (SDRT) at a rate of 1.5% of the higher of the market value of the shares or the option strike price. The aim of this measure is to prevent avoidance using "deep in the money" options, which have a strike price significantly below (for call options) or above (for put options) market value. This measure will be included in Finance Bill 2016.

The government's 2015 Autumn Statement policy costings document states that this measure will be effective from April 2016, but HM Treasury's 2015 Autumn Statement and Spending Review document states that it will apply to options entered into on or after 25 November 2015 and exercised on or after the date of the 2016 Budget.

For a discussion of the existing stamp duty and SDRT rules regarding issues of shares to a clearance service or depositary receipt issuer, see Practice note, Share issues: tax: Issue of shares to depositary or clearance service.

For information on equity options, see Practice note, Equity derivatives: overview (UK): Equity options.

For information on depositary receipts, see Practice note, Depositary receipts.

(2015 Autumn Statement and Spending Review, paragraphs 1.153 and 3.59.)

The government has also announced that it will introduce, in the Finance Bill 2016, changes to the transactions in securities rules and a new targeted anti-avoidance rule to prevent taxpayers from obtaining a tax advantage by converting, in certain circumstances, what would otherwise be an income distribution into a capital receipt. This is intended to tackle the use of voluntary liquidation as a tax planning tool by introducing two new sets of rules the effect which will be that voluntary liquidations of companies which are then "re-opened" by the same controlling shareholders will result in an income tax liability rather than a CGT liability.

For more information on this measure, see Legal update, 2015 Autumn Statement and Spending Review: key business tax announcements: Company distributions: consultation, proposed changes to transactions in securities rules and new TAAR.

(2015 Autumn Statement and Spending Review, paragraphs 1.153 and 3.85.)