Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Business

UK will become ‘innovation wasteland’ if Hunt pushes through R&D tax relief cuts, FSB warns

by February 21, 2023
February 21, 2023
UK will become ‘innovation wasteland’ if Hunt pushes through R&D tax relief cuts, FSB warns

The UK will become an “innovation wasteland” if the government pushes ahead with plans to slash research and development (R&D) tax relief, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned.

The UK’s largest business group urged ministers today to reverse plans to gut the R&D tax relief scheme, announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in November, claiming that the plans would spark a mass withdrawal of the UK’s small firms from innovation projects.

Start-ups and smaller firms reaped the benefits of the UK’s R&D system which offered rebates on innovation spending. However, Hunt announced plans to scale back the rebate to reduce fraud while offering more credits to bigger companies.

Research from the FSB today found that 64 per cent of of the firms to have earned the tax credits in the last three years would now rein in their innovation investment in light of the changes, equivalent to 50,000 small firms.

A quarter of firms surveyed by the FSB said they would refocus their efforts on “lower-risk” projects in light of the move while 12 per cent have frozen recruitment and bgun laying off staff as a result of the changes.

FSB chief Martin McTague said the findings underscored the importance of the tax regime and warned the Treasury it was approaching “deadline day” to decide on whether to reverse the cut.

“The UK risks being left in an innovation wasteland if Jeremy Hunt does not take control of Treasury innovation policy and restore the single most successful industrial policy of the last decade,” he said in a statement.

“Our findings are a reminder to the Chancellor that the Government still has time to do the right thing – delay or scrap the plan to cut R&D tax credits for small businesses from April.”

The warnings come as Hunt gears up to deliver his first full budget in March, widely expected to be a placeholder budget with few major tax cuts.

McTague said there was still time for the Chancellor to deliver “a great budget for growth” but urged him to be “less credulous when presented with bureaucratic certainty that only big firms can deliver R&D.”

Warnings from the FSB come after reports that some start-ups had begun to shun the UK and expand overseas in light of the tax changes.

Twelve top UK startups including autonomous driving firm Wayve and artificial meat-maker Hoxton Farms lobbied Rishi Sunak in the wake of Hunt’s November announcement, warning that the changes amounted to a £1bn funding cut for smaller innovation companies.

The Treasury has been approached for comment.

Read more:
UK will become ‘innovation wasteland’ if Hunt pushes through R&D tax relief cuts, FSB warns

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Best E-wallets For gambling
next post
Britain’s farmers battered by Brexit fallout and rising costs, says union

You may also like

Hunt tears up government economic strategy as families...

October 18, 2022

UK interest rates ‘could fall as low as...

October 22, 2024

Plans To Help Cut & Save On Energy...

October 24, 2022

Unlock the power of employer branding to build...

June 18, 2024

UK special effects firm DNEG valued at $2bn...

July 3, 2024

The long game: Avoid risky get rich schemes...

May 3, 2024

Lloyds braced for £1bn tax clash in Ireland...

February 6, 2025

UK Business Flight Demand Drops by Nearly a...

May 20, 2024

Key UK mortgage rate passes 4% for the...

August 23, 2022

US court rules Uber and Lyft workers are...

March 14, 2023

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Harmony Squad: Supreme Court Issues Six Unanimous Decisions

      June 5, 2025
    • Quick Login to AmourFactory: A Beginner’s Guide

      June 5, 2025
    • Disabling Trump’s “Tariff Button”

      June 5, 2025
    • ‘Sick puppy’ Tim Walz should never have been on Dems’ 2024 ticket, Trump says

      June 5, 2025
    • Federal judge orders Trump to restore funding to Clinton-era agency gutted by DOGE

      June 5, 2025
    • Musk says Trump would have lost 2024 election without him as ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ feud continues

      June 5, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,149)
    • Investing (2,011)
    • Politics (15,535)
    • Stocks (3,128)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved