Size matters

IN JULY 2005 HM Treasury and HMRC published a discussion document Supporting growth in innovation: enhancing the R&D tax credit (www.hmrc.gov.uk/consult_new/rd-taxcredit.pdf) which aimed to identify ways in which the tax credit could be simplified and improved with the overall aim of increasing the level of research and development (R&D) expenditure undertaken in the UK. The Government's subsequent proposals in response to the representations from companies their industry bodies and advisers were announced in a surprise move just before the Pre-Budget Report in the document Supporting growth in innovation: next steps for the R&D tax credit (www.hmrc.gov.uk/randd/randd-taxcredit.pdf).
In this article we look at the details of the new measures and comment on what they will mean to companies claiming R&D tax relief. The majority of the proposals are aimed in particular at small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which appears to be based on...