Chartered Accountants
Meet Our R&D Taxperts – David Morrison
R&D Tax Credits are a government-backed initiative designed to encourage innovation. Successful claims can provide a valuable source of cashflow for eligible companies, allowing businesses to invest back into the company.
At EQ, we have a dedicated team of R&D Taxperts that submit claims on behalf of our clients. To date, they have helped claim over £22m of tax savings for our clients, many of which are delivered on a yearly basis.
As accountants, tax and business advisors, we spend time getting to know clients’ businesses, allowing us to fully explore the scope of a potential R&D claim. This has allowed us to ensure that every claim submitted has benefitted the client, resulting in significant tax savings to invest back into their business.
Over the coming weeks, we want to introduce you to our team and ask them to provide advice to anyone considering making a claim or changing providers.
To begin, we spoke with David Morrison, Partner and Head of EQ Taxation.
How long have you been completing R&D claims for?
“I was the instigator of our specialist R&D team being set up over 5 years ago, although the first claim I prepared for a client was over 12 years ago. Our specialist team delivers something like 70 claims each year for a whole range of sectors, some apparently unlikely.”
What kind of claims have you been involved in recently?
“In the month before Christmas, I completed 11 claims for clients ranging from computer software companies to architects, engineers and furniture manufacturers. I recently completed a R&D claim for an architect client, that resulted in a client saving of £26,747.”
You can read the case study in full here.
What do you enjoy most about helping clients claim R&D tax credits?
“Leading the R&D team is a great joy for me, after all what’s not to like about securing large, transformational tax repayments for clients. The variety of claims makes the work so interesting and it’s probably the best opportunity an accountant has to get ‘under the bonnet’ of what a client does. The claims we have delivered have secured over £22m of tax savings for clients, securing and creating hundreds of jobs and allowing our fantastic clients to further innovate and grow, thereby creating opportunities for all.”
What advice would you give someone who may be unsure if they are eligible to make a claim?
“Modesty is perhaps the biggest enemy for companies considering R&D claims. I’ve heard comments like ‘we just bend metal’ all too often. The Scottish personality often undersells the terrific levels our clients reach, and my job is to ensure companies do not miss opportunities to secure tax relief to which they are entitled. Remember, R&D is a claim that eligible companies can make as a right – it is not aggressive tax planning.
“If you are unsure, give our team a call and we’ll give you an honest assessment. Never assume that you are not eligible, we find R&D in the most weird and wonderful places.”
If you would like to discuss your circumstances with David or any of our R&D Taxperts, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We will never tie you into a contract and would be happy to have a no obligation discussion to see if we can help you make a claim.
You can email us on R&[email protected] or call any of our offices to arrange a chat with our of our team.
