Member Article

Jumpstart welcomes Chancellor’s statements on R&D Tax

Jumpstart, one of the West Midlands’ leading R&D tax relief firms, has welcomed the Chancellor’s comments today on HMRC’s R&D Tax Credit Scheme within his Budget announcement.

Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer, noted that since having committed to reviewing the Scheme in the Autumn Statement 2016, the Government has now concluded that the Scheme is “globally competitive.”

Furthermore, Mr Hammond stated that he has accepted industry calls for a reduction in the administrative burden of the R&D Tax Credit Scheme and will be reviewing the regime to lessen this.

Commenting on the Budget announcement, Wendy Smith of Jumpstart, said:

“Making the application around the R&D tax credit scheme more straightforward can only be a good thing for West Midlands businesses. This will help to ensure continued innovation across multiple sectors, such as manufacturing, engineering and the creative industries.

“Jumpstart previously stated that the UK’s exit from the EU could bring about a subsequent ‘loosening of the shackles’ which bind us when it comes to R&D tax relief, and it looks like this is indeed the case.”

“Jumpstart feels that the format and structure of the Advance Assurance Scheme is an ideal platform to ensure compliance with the regulations whilst maintaining consistency in application.

“However, our experience is that Advance Assurance demands a level of knowledge of the legislation that will expose any lack of understanding, potentially leading to an HMRC enquiry. We would urge companies to seek expert advice to ensure that their claims are 100% accurate – since over claiming, even unknowingly, could have severe repercussions for a business.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .