Midlands companies need to maximise their R&D and Patent Box tax entitlements, according to experts at international accountancy firm Mazars.
Mazars, along with patent attorneys Swindell & Pearson Ltd, are inviting businesses to a briefing on these latest tax mitigation and intellectual property protection opportunities.
It takes place on Monday, November 10, at the Radisson Blu Hotel East Midlands Airport.
Entitled “Tax Relief? It’s Patently Obvious”, the breakfast event will be addressed by Gary Devonshire, Senior Tax Manager at Mazars, and Michael Skinner, Chartered Patent and Trade Mark Attorney at Swindell & Pearson.
The phasing in of the new Patent Box regime began last year and becomes fully effective from April 2017, eventually reducing corporation tax on relevant IP profits to 10 per cent.
It runs alongside the existing R&D tax credit system and will increase the number of organisations that benefit from innovation based tax relief’s, including those involved in product design and manufacturing.
The two regimes form a cycle for innovative companies to obtain significant tax benefits from the activities they undertake, from product creation to IP protection.
Mr Devonshire said: “With the Midlands being the manufacturing heartland of the UK, with a reputation for innovation, the R&D and the Patent Box tax relief’s can be hugely beneficial for many companies”.
“Patent Box applies to UK companies that own European patents or hold exclusive licences to use them. If you own protected IP for a small component of a larger non-patented product, your organisation could be eligible for a significant corporation tax reduction based on the sale of the whole product”.
The Patent Box relief applies to all protected IP related income including sales, licence fees, royalties, IP rights transactions, infringement incomes, damages and other compensatory receipts.
“I don’t think companies yet recognise just how broadly the Patent Box tax relief will be applied,” said Mr Devonshire. “This is an enormous opportunity for organisations across the product design, manufacturing and technology industries.
“Companies need to check they have the accounting systems in place to capture the information that will enable them to calculate the relevant profits that fall within the Patent Box”.
He added: “This is an opportunity to network with like-minded businesses while either gaining an insight, or revisiting both R&D tax credits and the Patent Box.
The event runs from 8.30am until 11am. Interested parties should contact Alison Beddow on [email protected] or 0116 2816500.
