Public perception of R&D is poor – Could R&D tax relief claims turn things around?

When we take a look back across the vast expanse of human history, it should be fairly apparent how R&D has shaped the world in which we live.

Every chair we sit on, every device we use and every vehicle we drive is the result of a complex web of interconnected R&D projects that resulted in success and countless more failures that paved the way.

Yet ask the average person on the street and they are more than likely unable to provide a response on how R&D benefits themselves or even the country as a whole.

As R&D tax consultants, we feel it is our duty to help break down the barriers of the R&D echo chamber and encourage news of the positive impact to spread.

Why do people not know the benefits of R&D?

The problem with asking people who are not continually immersed in science and technology about R&D is that they are unlikely to register small but vital innovations.

The invention of the steam engine or the internet is likely to make people sit up and take notice, given that the impact is pronounced and public.

However, more subtle innovations like efforts to increase the longevity of brake pads by a year without hampering their performance or increasing the cost to produce may fly under the radar.

This has led to a survey conducted by the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) finding that 29 per cent of people can think of ways R&D benefits the country and only 18 per cent could think of benefits to themselves.

More reassuringly, the survey found that 88 per cent of people believed that it was important for the Government to keep funding R&D.

This should not be taken as a sign that R&D will retain public support indefinitely, as the lack of understanding of the benefit of R&D could see an erosion in support over time.

More importantly for R&D tax relief claims, the question arises as to whether accountants and those in innovative businesses truly understand the benefit of R&D.

How can awareness of R&D be improved?

R&D tax relief claims should be a valuable way of communicating the effectiveness of R&D, but this is often fraught with issues.

It is understandable that some innovative businesses may not want to shout from the rooftops about the work they do for fear of disclosing trade secrets.

However, it is necessary for innovative businesses to raise the profile of R&D if they want to curry favour with the public.

R&D tax relief claims feature the technical narrative, which serves to translate the innovative work conducted in a project into terms that can be understood by anyone.

While not all the information should be released to the public, some aspects of the technical narrative could be incorporated into promotional materials to show how much work goes into R&D.

If nothing else, showing how new products or developments are appreciably better than those that came before could help to strengthen the public perception of the virtues of R&D.

Understandably, a number of high-profile issues with fraudulent R&D tax relief claims may have also soured perceptions of R&D.

This is why we are working to educate accountants and innovative businesses about best practices with R&D tax relief claims.

We know that innovation is vital to the success of the country and R&D is a core part of that.

Utilising R&D tax relief claims has allowed many sectors to develop new advances, but this will be at risk if perception falls and funding is restricted.

We want to show you the full benefits of R&D tax relief claims so that you will feel emboldened to share the virtues of R&D with others.

To make vital innovation more rewarding, speak to our team today!

Tom Mason