New regional employers and NIC holiday

New businesses, starting after 21 June 2010, will be entitled to a 12 month holiday in respect of the employer's NIC that would otherwise be payable on the remuneration paid to employees. The holiday, which is given by way of a deduction from the usual PAYE/NIC liability of the employer, can be claimed for up to 10 employees and applies in respect of the first 12 months of each relevant employment. The scheme is presently set to end on 6 September 2013. The maximum reduction per new employee is £5,000.

The business (which includes property and investment concerns) must be a new one, and must be based, broadly speaking, outside of London and the Home Counties. 

The scheme will not be given statutory force until early 2011, and draft legislation has been issued in anticpation. New employers might be minded to wonder whether parliament may pull a a fast one and not proceed to enact the legislation, whether at all or in significantly altered form. Save where abuse of the proposed anti avoidance provisions is contemplated, the doctrine of legitimate expectation, together with the political force of public outcry, should be sufficient to remove any concerns in this regard.

Technical note, draft legislation and explanatory notes (via HMRC) here

Further details and forms etc (via Business Link) here.