Burford still unsure of impact of US budget bill

(Sharecast News) - Burford Capital further updated the market regarding proposed tax provisions affecting the litigation finance industry in America on Monday, being pushed through as part of the US Senate's draft budget reconciliation bill. Revisions made over the weekend included a reduction in the proposed tax rate to 31.8%, down from the originally suggested 40.8%, and a reduction in the withholding tax rate to 15.9% of gains, rather than 50% of the tax applied to gross proceeds.

As a result of the changes, Burford said the Joint Committee on Taxation had lowered its estimated tax revenue from the provisions to $1.4bn over the next decade, down from previous estimates of up to $3.5bn.

The AIM-traded company noted that the legislation remained under debate in the Senate, with significant procedural and political hurdles still to be resolved.

The company emphasised that the outcome of the discussions, including whether the provisions were enacted at all, remained uncertain.

Burford reiterated that it was not yet able to determine the potential impact of the proposed measures, if passed in their current form, on its future tax position.

At 1230 BST, shares in Burford Capital were down 0.88% at 849.5p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.