LONDON (UK) – The Sunday Telegraph has reported that UK finance minister Rishi Sunak is all set to bring in tax cuts and overhaul planning laws in as many as 10 new “freeports” within a year of Britain becoming fully independent from the European Union in December.
In his autumn budget, the finance minister will open bidding for towns, cities and regions to become freeports. They would be placed outside the purview of UK customs, said the report. He plans to confirm the successful bids by spring and bring in tax and regulatory changes in next year’s budget.
There will be tax credits for research and development, capital allowances, slashes on stamp duty house-purchase tax and business rates.
Places marked as free ports will be legally outside UK customs territory. Goods imported, manufactured or re-exported will not incur national tariffs or import VAT until they enter the rest of the economy.
According to the Telegraph report, the government believes this new policy can transform ports into global hubs for manufacturing and innovation with the incentives aimed at wooing companies to set up new factories and processing sites in those areas.
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This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field