Latest Technology

As HMRC have experienced an increase in the number of SME Research & Development (R&D) tax relief claims being made by companies, so have they witnessed a number of fraudulent claims being made. To tackle this abuse, HMRC have established a tax credit compliance team to deal with R&D enquiries.   If a company receives…

From 1 April 2023 there are a few changes to the ‘super-generous’ R&D tax relief rules: The Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) rate will increase from 13% to 20%, The SME additional deduction will decrease from 130% to 86% and the SME tax credit (surrender) rate will decrease from 14.5% to 10%. Additional costs…

As we continually move from the analogue to the digital age, approving business documents by e-signature is becoming evermore common place. In response to this, The Law Society have just issued an updated practice note. This practice note sets the scene by recognising that e-signatures can be in various forms: name typed on a document…

Many businesses invest in science and technology research and development to improve their competitiveness. The UK Government encourages companies to develop new processes, products and services, as well as improvements to existing solutions by giving tax relief as a proportion of qualifying R&D expenditure. From April 2023 there are a few changes to the rules:…

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has been asked by HMRC to share the message below about the recent pausing of Research & Development Tax Credit (RDTC) payments with their members.   Message from HMRC: “We previously notified agents that we have paused some Research & Development Tax Credit (RDTC) payments while we investigate an increase…

As R&D tax relief rules are arguably the most generous on the UK tax statute book, it is perhaps no surprise that HMRC consider that there is much abuse going on. For every £1 that a corporate taxpayer claims as an eligible R&D spend, their corporation tax bill is reduced by 43.7p (ie, not the…

If you operate a trade through a limited company, and your ‘numbers’ are big enough, then there are some scenarios where it is often best advice to insert a parent company above this trading company, to create a simple group structure: As a risk management measure, to enable valuable assets (eg business premises, investment property,…

For some businesses having a strong credit rating is fundamental to their future success. It can affect availability of supplier credit, the ability to borrow and eligibility to be on customer/prospect tender lists as an approved supplier. For many other businesses, however, this credit rating is totally irrelevant.   Experian is one of the major…

Those businesses with comprehensive commercial insurance cover will possibly be covered for ‘business interruption’. This cover will typically include losses arising from events that close or severely disrupt operations. The COVID pandemic has already led to many claims under this. The insurance industry (as you might expect?) has warned that few policies are likely to…

  In light of the Government’s announcement to go to Plan B, our IT services subsidiary company, decisive:it,  have written an article on data protection and security whilst working from home: Data Protection and the Blended Working Environment