One question that seems to me to be coming up more and more from CFOs is "am I getting a good return on my investment in R&D?" And to be honest, many of those CFOs who aren't asking the question, probably should be! When we talk about 'R&D' here, we're essentially talking about the innovation [...]
Following a review by the Office of Tax Simplification and their report published on 3 March 2011, the Government is now consulting on the proposal to abolish 36 tax reliefs. Now, before you get too excited - either at the thought of the benefits for simplification or at the thought of losing valuable reliefs - [...]
One seemingly straightforward sub clause in the current Finance Bill shows just how little our politicians actually understand about the technical detail behind the words. Clause 43(6) states: In section 1058 (amount of tax credit), in subsection (1)(a), for "14%" substitute "12.5%". What this will do is to reduce the rate of repayable R&D Credit [...]
Last week (18 May 2011), representatives from ICAEW, ICAS and ACCA appeared before the House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs, Finance Bill Sub-Committee to answer questions on (amongst other things) Tax Policy making. There was a general feeling that things need to improve - there is too much complex legislation being rushed out with poor [...]
Just read on the Guardian site (www.guardian.co.uk) that the Government have finally agreed amongst themselves on a proposal to make carbon reduction legally binding. David Cameron is clearly determined to deliver on his promise of leading the greenest ever Government! According to guardian.co.uk: Cabinet ministers have agreed a far-reaching, legally binding "green deal" that will [...]
The Finance Bill (or to give it its full title the Finance (No 3) Bill 2010/11) was published this week. This is often the time when we find out the true meaning of the sometimes vague comments in the Budget speech and in the ensuing press releases. As far as R&D relief is concerned, however, [...]
Now that the dust is starting to settle on the Chancellor's Budget, it is worth looking to see what his proposals mean for businesses carrying out R&D in the UK. The Chancellor announced a mix of immediate and future (FB 2012) changes to the R&D Tax Relief regime. These changes primarily affect the relief for [...]