The Government published its R&D Roadmap on 1 July, setting out its vision to attract global talent, cut unnecessary bureaucracy and cement the UK as a world-leading science superpower.
My take on this is that whilst lots of investment will be via targeted grants there will be more good news to come for R&D tax reliefs. Watch this space.
The positives
Whilst this is very much the start of the journey (and some may say just words), a few positives to note include:
- Continuing commitment to increasing UK investment in R&D to 2.4% of GDP by 2027 and to increase public funding for R&D to £22 billion per year by 2024 to 2025.
- Government will ensure the UK is the best place in the world for scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs.
- The roadmap sets out a vision to attract global talent, cut unnecessary bureaucracy and cement the UK as a world-leading science superpower.
- A significant £300 million government investment will upgrade scientific infrastructure across the UK
Impact for R&D tax credits
We recently had an increase in the large company R&D Expenditure Credit (RDEC) to 13% (from 1 April 2020) and the R&D Roadmap brings further positive messaging about providing broader support for businesses to start, scale-up, or invest in innovation such as a competitive R&D tax credit scheme, a responsive regulation system and access to growth finance.
Importantly, the Government recognises that over two-thirds of UK R&D investment comes from the business community. Research shows that R&D by private firms is influenced by a wide range of rules, systems and interactions including the tax regime and our intellectual property system.
The Government wants to understand whether the tax system encourages innovation and promises to ensure that the regime reflects the changing reality of R&D and remains globally competitive. I look forward to inputting in due course – my last study of the international landscape suggested there was much more to do.
