‘Flawed’ tax credit policy imperils UK government’s R&D target

Cambridge report finds £7-billion-a-year tax-credit scheme failed to raise business R&D investment

The government will miss its target of 2.4 per cent of national income being invested in R&D by 2027 unless it radically changes its “flawed” tax credits policy for businesses, according to a report from the University of Cambridge’s business school.

In the report, published on 24 May, David Connell from the Cambridge Judge Business School said that official data showed the government’s tax credit scheme has had no impact on boosting R&D spending by UK businesses, despite recent claims to the contrary by the Treasury.