Member Article

R&D tax relief figures show decline in value of North East SME claims

The value of R&D (research and development) tax credit claims made by North East SMEs has fallen according to new statistics released by HMRC.

The latest 2017-18 figures show North East companies made a total of 1,615 claims, up from 1,370 made at this time last year. There were 1,525 successful claims made by SMEs in the region and a further 90 secured by larger companies, amounting to £85m in R&D tax relief secured by businesses across the region.

Despite the rise in the number of SME claims, the average claim value fell in the region from £46,413 in 2016-17 to £42,553 in these latest figures, a decrease of eight per cent.

Overall, North East-based companies secured three per cent of the 48,635 R&D tax credit claims made across the UK in the 2017-18 period. A total of £4.3bn of tax relief support was claimed in the period corresponding to £31.3bn of R&D expenditure by British businesses. The HMRC figures are based on partial data for the year with the total number set to increase further as more returns are received.

North East companies also secured £4m in rebates for Patent Box claims, another tax relief incentive available to help firms develop intellectual property (IP) assets. Overall, companies across the UK secured a total of £993m in Patent Box tax breaks in 2017-18. This year’s R&D tax credit statistics show manufacturing companies along with those in ‘Professional, Scientific and Technical’, and ‘Information and Communication’ sectors continuing to have the greatest volume of claims. The three categories account for a combined total of 68% of claims and 73% of the total amount claimed in 2017-18.

Commenting on the new figures, Scott Henderson, CEO of ABGI UK, said: “While it’s encouraging to see the number of R&D tax relief claims rising in the North East, the fall in the value of average SME claims is disappointing given the benefit this can deliver for small companies.

“The R&D tax credit scheme has a proven track record in delivering success, driving forward innovation and helping develop more world-class companies across the UK. Going forward we need to help encourage more SMEs across the region to insure they are securing maximum benefit when they invest in research and development.”

Since the launch of R&D tax credit schemes in 2000, over 300,000 claims have been made and £26.9bn in tax relief claimed.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Bill Shaw .