= (BES)

A UK fiscal device intended to encourage investment of venture capital in new businesses. This operated from 1981 to 1994, when it was replaced by the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). Investment under the BES was encouraged by tax concessions; it is not clear how far businesses coming into the scheme were really new, and how far it benefited businesses which would have been started in any case even without the scheme, or encouraged creative accounting to enable businesses which were already in existence to participate.

• two-tier board
• type I and II errors
• unbiased estimator
• unbundling
• uncertainty
• uncompetitive
• UNCTAD
• undated security
• under-capitalized
• under-developed country
• under-funded pension scheme
• underlying rate of inflation
• under-subscription
• under-valued currency
• underwriting
• undistributed profits
• UNDP
• unearned income
• unemployable
• unemployment
• unemployment benefit
• unemployment rate
• unexpected inflation
• unfair competition
• unfair dismissal