Tax - do your research

摘要

Generous tax incentives for research and development were introduced around the world from the early 1980s. The UK scheme for R&D tax relief was launched in the year 2000, followed by the creation of HM Revenue & Customs' specialist units in 2007. The aim is to encourage businesses to spend more on R&D, in recognition of the global trend towards knowledge-based economies. Only by boosting R&D activity can the UK economy remain strong and GDP grow. The government therefore wants R&D expenditure to increase to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2014.