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This project is part of The Cox Review of Creativity in Business
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Why aren't more SMEs claiming R&D Tax Credits?
Should there be more help for companies who want to claim?
David Godber
Director, Nissan Design Europe
We have secured Nissan's design studio hundreds of thousands of pounds a year in tax relief, purely for our design endeavours. This is a tangible demonstration of how the design process can be eligible for research and development support.
Harry Rich
Deputy Chief Executive, Design Council
The Cox Review wasn’t calling for a change in the rules. It seems that the rules as they stand allow claims for design work under certain circumstances and we’re now in the process of testing that.
David Cobb
Partner, Deloitte R&D Service Line
When people think of R&D they think of science – men in white coats and so on. But a great deal of it is actually at the development end of the spectrum. There’s a degree of design, testing and prototyping that’s essential to creating new products or better products. It’s about demonstrating that you’ve departed from routine practice to do something that’s new, different and not obvious. If you’ve done that, you then have to explain to the tax inspector the challenge or constraint you’ve overcome in a way that doesn’t confuse them, but that isn’t so straightforward that it doesn’t appear to be a challenge at all! Any business owes it to itself, its investors and its shareholders to give this some thought.
The Cox Review wasn’t calling for a change in the rules. It seems that the rules as they stand allow claims for design work under certain circumstances and we’re now in the process of testing that.
