Treasury sets up units for R&D tax credits

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Alistair Darling announced yesterday that the Treasury is to set up internal units for handling applications for R&D tax credit applications in design.

Delivering his Keynote address at the Competitiveness Summit 06, organised with the Design Council at London’s Royal Academy, the Secretary of State reported that since their introduction last year, some £970m in R&D tax credits have been redeemed by design sector businesses.

‘The Treasury is currently setting up specialist units in HM Revenue & Customs to make sure that we can handle [applications for tax credits],’ the Secretary of State said.

David Godber, director of Nissan Europe, encouraged more businesses to make use of the scheme and said it could do much to encourage inward foreign investment to the UK.

Alistair Darling also pledged his support to the Cox Review Recommendations and called on the Design Council to report back to him on its progress in full by next March. The Council had been due to deliver a scorecard report of the Cox Review’s progress, but this was dropped on the day in favour of the new report to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.