The statement announced a number of consultations. One consultation has been launched to consider advance clearance for R&D tax credits, which would be a new process for R&D, and could help provide welcome certainty in the face of the recent aggressive stance HMRC have taken against R&D claims.
Some more optimistic news for tech companies seeking investment is that the government has reiterated its determination to ensure the UK is an attractive place to start and scale-up a business. Whilst there is no consultation, it has been announced that the government will hold a series of roundtables with leading entrepreneurs and venture capital firms in April to discuss the role of tax reliefs such as EMI share incentives, and EIS and VCT investment schemes. Many tech companies will rely on these tax reliefs especially in the very early stages of building a business and we hope that this means such reliefs will be maintained or strengthened, and are not in danger of being slashed in the coming years.
