Should We Stay or Should We Go? Does Anyone Really Know?

Are small business owners in the UK in a stronger position in or our of the EU?

Voices on both sides of the EU Referendum tend to market their cause to us in fairly bold and strident term, clearly determined to convince us that their argument is the winning one, but does anyone fully understand, stay or go, what the repercussions for our small business might be and how applications for Research & Development Tax Relief might be affected? Well, without wishing to offend the Danes, to paraphrase one of their more famous marketing slogans: probably not.

What is the outlook for R&D Tax Relief?

A lot of the cash currently made available through Research & Development Tax Relief payments, for innovation by UK businesses comes from the EU pot. So if we stay, we are pretty sure it will continue in its current form.

The UK itself has a good reputation globally for undertaking new research and delivering innovative ideas for industry and business. Consequently, were we to leave the EU and find ourselves a smaller fish in a bigger global pond, there is good reason to believe that the UK Government, of whatever political persuasion, would want to continue to fund R&D Tax Relief to the best of its ability, as they have historically demonstrated since 2000. That of course sets afloat a raft of questions about where the money would come from and who the potential winners and losers in the new economic landscape might be. In truth, right now: it’s impossible to say.

We can help!

What is clear is that Cooden Tax Consulting is here and will remain available. (Sussex hasn’t launched its campaign for independence) to guide you to a better understanding of what costs you might be able to recoup. In doing so, we’ll help UK businesses continue to prosper.

www.coodentaxconsulting.co.uk