Graham Steele joins KPMG in Yorkshire as a Research & Development (R&D) Tax Director, leading the firm’s Innovation Reliefs and Incentives Group across the North, after seven years in Australia working at the firm’s Sydney office.
‘Down under’ Steele advised on R&D across a large mix of industries, from financial services to software, and renewable energy to mining. His experiences included working at a remote mine site in the Northern Territories, conducting meetings in the mining town’s only pub.
Originally from Yorkshire, Steele is returning to his roots to focus on the myriad of positive changes occurring in the UK tax landscape.
He says:
“This is an exciting time to be returning to the UK tax scene, notwithstanding tax being high on the news agenda, because great leaps are being made in innovation policy.
“Increasingly the UK tax system is using new reliefs and incentives to foster innovation and promote the UK economy. The introduction of the new Patent Box regime, the R&D Expenditure Credit and the new Creative Sector Reliefs are prime examples.
“They present a great opportunity for the region’s companies which have a rich history of innovation and technological bravery.
“The new R&D Expenditure Credit enables companies to claim a taxable credit of 10% of their qualifying R&D expenditure, which is refundable if there are tax losses. This will create a great incentive for businesses to undertake and commercialise R&D as well as encouraging international firms to locate here.
“Now is a crucial time for businesses to ensure they are capturing all the entitlements available. There is a choice regarding the R&D regime likely to be most beneficial and there are also decisions to be made around accounting and internal processes in this area.
“These new opportunities and the decisions they trigger for companies means that while the weather might not be as good, from a tax environment perspective it’s great to be back,” concludes Steele.
