Latest Blogs in Technology
Ian Piper
9th April 2019 R&D Tax Relief: HMRC Try to Tackle Abuse

  Many companies, not just those in the tech industry, will have benefitted from the generosity of R&D tax relief. Eligible R&D expenditure can be inflated by a notional 230% uplift, and a refund of tax claimed on tax that was never paid in the first place. Perhaps not unsurprisingly, HMRC have identified abuses of…

Ian Piper
18th January 2019 CryptoCurrency Taxation: HMRC close loophole?

HMRC are not known for being ahead of the curve, so trying to find official guidance on how exchange gains from selling bitcoin, and other crypto currencies, is expected to be self-assessed and taxed, was always going to be ‘problematic’. At the time of first researching this, the latest HMRC guidance was published in 3…

Jeannette Hume
11th December 2018 R&D tax credits explained

Research and development (R&D) tax credits are a valuable government tax relief that rewards UK companies for investing in innovation. Companies that spend money developing new products, processes or services; or enhancing existing ones, are eligible for a cash payment and/or Corporation Tax reduction. R&D tax credit rates are the equivalent of up to 33p…

Jeannette Hume
8th November 2018 EIS: v2?

Observers of recent Budgets will have noticed that the Chancellor has made several references to “EIS Knowledge Intensive Funds”, as a new initiative to help finance growth in innovative firms. He has even invented a new phrase to describe this type of funding: ‘Patient Capital’. The initial March 2018 Consultation Paper has now closed for…

Ian Piper
30th October 2018 Budget 2018: What’s in it for TechCo’s

Philip Hammond’s much predicted ‘End to Austerity’ Budget was a lot more positive than similar pronouncements of recent years. Although UK growth is still sluggish (predicted at 1.6% for 2018), higher than expected tax revenues have enabled the public purse strings to be loosened. Announcements that will be of interest to technology SME’s include: New…

Ian Piper
26th September 2018 TechCos: Preserve ER with new tax election

Those companies that continually go through funding rounds, such as your typical techco start-up, should be aware that HMRC are introducing a new tax election wef 6-Apr-19: Proposed legislation contained within the Finance Bill 2018 This election will allow shareholders who hold at least 5% of the company on 6 April 2019, and who are…

Jeannette Hume
4th September 2018 EIS Test Case: Capital gains tax exit exemption not linked to income tax entry claim.

In a recent HMRC test case (Ames v CRC), the Upper Tribunal considered whether it was necessary for EIS income tax relief to have been claimed when an EIS investment was made, for the transaction to then potentially qualify for exemption from capital gains tax when the investment was sold. For the case in question,…

Jeannette Hume
18th June 2018 EIS Money: Beware how you spend it!

Tech companies that are financed through EIS equity cash will be aware that this ‘tax wrapper’ can be super-generous, but that many criteria have to be met to ensure eligibility. One of these long standing criteria has been that the company must use the proceeds (up to £5m pa) raised: In either a qualifying trade…

Whitings LLP
1st June 2018 Fraud

Fraud is a gigantic area which I would never be able to discuss fully in one blog however, after a recent run-in with a fake HMRC line; I did want to make you aware of a few key things to look out for or to be aware of when dealing with possible fraud. It’s important…

Ian Piper
23rd May 2018 EMI Share Options: EU waives opportunity to ‘be difficult’.

Tech companies that have a business plan of developing a new product, with the aim of an eventual trade sale or IPO exit, will be very familiar with EMI share options. These options give generous personal tax breaks, to help recruit, retain and reward middle management and key workers. Under generic EU principles, such tax…