Is £17,000 a significant figure when disposing of a business?

November 17, 2019 3:28 PM

UK (England) question. I've known of and worked for a couple of successor small businesses which were regularly (every other year) sold or reconstituted under extended family members. The figure of £17,000 has come up several times as the impetus for the change in reference to unpayable debts accrued by these businesses, e.g. as a utilities bill or as monies owed to suppliers. For curiosity more than anything, does this figure have any particular significance, e.g. some threshold for declaring bankruptcy or for de facto unpursued debts or something?
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue to Work & Money (4 answers total)

Was this in Scotland? Scotland has a type of bankruptcy subject to minimal review that is expedited and less onerous, called the "Minimal Asset Process." One of the eligibility qualifications for MAP is that you must not owe more than £17,000.
posted by RichardP at 3:52 PM on November 17, 2019 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: England actually, I should have been more specific. Thanks for the answer though, that's exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for.
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 4:58 PM on November 17, 2019

Mod note: Added that bit of clarification to the question text.
posted by cortex (staff) at 5:36 PM on November 17, 2019

I don't think this could be related, but mentioning for completeness: £17,000 is the maximum amount that HMRC can confiscate in tax debt from your salary or pension.
posted by Syllepsis at 11:15 PM on November 17, 2019 [1 favorite]