Member Article

R&D tax specialist believes Government action holds the key to innovation boost

One of Scotland’s leading R&D tax relief specialists is urging the Government to back up its recent rallying call for more companies to embrace innovation and technology by making it easier for firms to invest.

Edinburgh-based Jumpstart, which has submitted more than 3000 claims since it was formed in 2008, believes more needs to be done to encourage businesses to embark on Research and Development projects – especially in light of Brexit uncertainty.

Managing Director Scott Henderson welcomed the Prime Minister’s recent CBI speech, but is adamant that these words need to be put into measures that will help remove some of the barriers to investing in innovation, including access to funding, a lack of in-house skills and simplifying regulation.

“For every £1 of Government support UK firms receive, they spend £2.35 in the economy through R&D. Imagine how that figure could grow if they made the R&D tax relief process simpler and more inclusive,” explained Scott, who took over at Jumpstart in March this year.

“Uncertainty is growing with the protracted nature of the Brexit negotiations and we need to find ways of offsetting this and ensuring innovation continues to flourish. HMRC figures revealed a 19% rise in the number of claims for R&D tax relief last year…that’s great, but it is still only 26,255 businesses.”

He continued: “This is just a small fraction of the economy and there will be thousands out there that are innovating but not getting involved. A positive outcome from the Government’s review of the tax treatment of R&D to make it more attractive than international partners has the potential to add hundreds of millions to the UK economy.”

Jumpstart is a market leader in guiding businesses through the complexities of HMRC’s R&D tax relief scheme.

Since inception it has recovered over £100 million in R&D tax relief and identified over £500 million in eligible R&D expenditure for UK businesses, successfully submitting over 3000 claims. The greatest number of claims were made in the software, IT and manufacturing sectors. 

“Our industry experience, scientific and technical expertise and deep understanding of HMRC’s regulations enables us to identify and claim every last penny our clients are entitled to,” continued Scott.

“More often than not this money is ploughed back into future R&D and innovation projects that are helping to create jobs and improving the UK’s competitiveness.”

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