Government must improve tax breaks for low carbon R&D
The government must maintain and improve the research and development (R&D) tax credit scheme, which encourages investment, to help Britain lead the way in low-carbon innovation, the CBI said today
The call is just one of ten recommendations for government made by Britain's leading business group in a new report, Pulling ahead: innovating for low-carbon leadership. The CBI also makes three recommendations for business.
Other proposed measures include further policies to support cutting-edge industries that help cut carbon, changes to government procurement to foster take-up of low-carbon technology and accelerating national infrastructure projects in areas like energy generation.
R&D tax credit schemes give companies tax relief, and can either reduce a company's tax bill, or in the case of certain small or medium-sized companies, provide a cash sum. The credits allow relevant companies to deduct up to 175% of qualifying R&D expenditure when calculating their profit for tax purposes.
