Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on business profitability of the annual investment allowance.

The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) provides companies with a 100% first-year deduction for their capital investment, up to the AIA limit. In order to support businesses to invest, the government increased the permanent level of the AIA from £25,000 to £200,000 from 1 January 2016. In 2016-17, it is forecast that the AIA provided support to businesses of £2.7 billion. It is estimated that 85% of the value of the AIA at £200,000 goes to small and medium-sized companies.