Merging research and development schemes

The adage ‘simplicity is prerequisite for reliability’ may have been front of mind during research and development (R&D) policy meetings in Whitehall over the last 18 months as the government has sought to cement spillover benefits of the UK’s flagship tax policy for innovation – R&D tax relief – while simultaneously shutting down widely reported abuse of the incentive.

As we move closer to an Autumn Statement that will define the long-term future for innovation in the UK businesses of all sizes are anticipating changes to the incentive that will likely impact their financial planning.

The change at the heart of the proposal set out by the government is the proposed merger of the two schemes that form R&D tax relief – the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) scheme and the R&D expenditure credit (RDEC).

In last year’s Autumn Statement the government initiated a...