In the daunting world of R&D tax credits and funding, it is easy to be deterred by red tape and cumbersome processes. Guang Deng, Tax Director at Leyton gives his tips on navigating the minefield.
With George Osbourne’s recent spending review, the waters by which SMEs can obtain funding are now muddier than ever.
With several funds ceasing to exist, and new ones being named as long as you meet criterion X, Y and Z, it is more difficult than ever for businesses to find financial support.
Funding is out there, but it is often hard to see the woods for the trees.
And with more than 15 years of international experience at leveraging the tools and funding options available to its clients, Leyton is providing tailored advice to help manufacturers find the most applicable funding.
“R&D tax credits are our bread and butter in the UK”, says Guang Deng Tax Director of Leyton.
“Our breadth of experience and depth of knowledge enables us to have a half an hour conversation with any client to identify if they are in scope or not,” he adds.
R&D tax credits are underutilised according to Guang, “Over the years that I’ve been doing R&D tax claims, the awareness factor has always been an issue.”
Many firms forget to look into R&D tax credits and many government-run agencies, especially those affiliated with tax, are often seen to be difficult to deal with.
Instead, firms look to private equity as a way of raising extra cash for R&D, but regularly have to trade control of their organisation in return for the funds they need.
Guang’s advice for companies that want to raise extra funds without losing control of their business is simple; look to public funding, “You are better off looking at HMRC as a source of funding to actually reduce your R&D costs through the R&D tax credit.”
“Or even, potentially, the new Patent Box scheme, which came into the market back in April 2013. This is essentially the reverse side of the same coin, where companies are incentivised to exploit R&D and intellectual property.
“The UK is a good place to do business in and with. There is a lot of funding available for SMEs to tap in to and consultants to advise them. Whatever support firms are choosing, it is a question of what they want out of the relationship; and how do they go about choosing an advisor?
“You have to choose an advisor with a good track record, an excellent knowledge of your field and a strong relationship with the tax inspectors on the ground.
And how should an SME know when to approach a consultant like Leyton?
“The message I would like to get out is that companies that are being innovative, challenging the core competencies of their staff, reacting to commercial pressures, investing in software upgrades or even just fine tuning manufacturing processes, should consider contacting us,” Guang concludes.
