Research and development tax reliefs revamp questioned

Government proposals to streamline the research and development (R&D) tax relief system would mean merging the two current schemes and potentially revamping permissible qualifying activity and claimant criteria. Indeed a consultation (now closed) on the proposals by the Treasury and HMRC (tinyurl.com/47h54duh) suggests that a new scheme could be set to be implemented by perhaps as early next April.

Client survey

Azets carried out two surveys to 42 000 clients and most respondents agreed that a single scheme was desirable but as proposed would be to the detriment of the small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) community. Simplification of process and clarification of qualifying expenditure were the main attractions of a single scheme.

Almost everybody who replied said the government’s proposal was going sideways around the issue and minimising even further what the small companies scheme looks like. This is great news for...