Don't be taxed by tax

Tax isn't the first thing most business owners think about in a positive way. However, when it comes to R&D, investment and growth, tax might be just what you need to be thinking about. Or more specifically, tax relief. That's because R&D tax relief is crucial to securing future investment and with Scottish companies spending more than ever on R&D, it's an opportunity that should not be overlooked.

Catax has been helping clients secure tax relief for over 10 years and has identified over £204m in tax benefit for our clients to date. We are dedicated to educating businesses about the tax reliefs available to them to help in future investment in the UK economy.

The three tax reliefs we deal with are:

Research and Development (R&D) Tax Relief This is awarded to businesses that invest in innovation. This innovation can be in the form of developing new systems, processes, products, materials, devices, or any changes to the way your business works. There are nearly 5.5 million companies in the UK, yet according to HMRC's Research and Development Tax Credits Statistics, only 170,000 claims have been made between 2000 – 2016.

Capital Allowances Tax Relief This offsets the hidden expenditure in your commercial property. Typically, this includes elements such as air conditioning, wiring, heating, lighting and security systems. All commercial property owners who are UK taxpayers may be eligible to claim Capital Allowances tax relief.

The Patent Box Tax Relief This is the Government’s way of encouraging the development of new patented inventions in the UK. If your company is making a profit on your patented inventions, you will be eligible for a lower effective corporation tax rate of 10% on your relevant profits. In 2015/16, a total of 1,160 companies claimed relief under the Patent Box with a total value of £754.3 million. The number of claims for 2016/17 so far is 1,025 with a value of £942.5 million, however there are still hundreds of eligible companies who have not claimed!

Innovation in Scotland is increasingly rapidly, with businesses spending more on Research & Development than ever before. Latest figures show year-on-year growth of 4.5% to £1.07bn and it

has been was reported that the number of new software companies being created in Scotland rose by 77% in the past year. Due to this rise in innovation and technology, we opened two offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow last year. Our Glasgow office in West George Street is now Catax’s main Scottish hub; allowing us to hire more permanent staff who understand the economy and businesses in the area and can travel far and wide to assist clients.

Catax has a team of over 90 in-house experts which includes Surveyors, Tax Technicians, Accountants, Report Writers and Technical Account Managers, all expertly trained to help clients claim back the highest possible amounts from HMRC. We are trusted partners with many of the UK’s top accountants, solicitors, the Law Society, ICAEW, IFA and CIMA amongst other industry bodies and so far, we’ve helped over 14,000 clients claim their money back from HMRC.

If you would like to speak to us about whether you can make a claim, you can contact Catax on 0141 530 1930.