Start-ups pile pressure on Hunt to reverse R&D tax overhaul

Pressure is mounting on the Chancellor to scrap changes to research and development (R&D) tax credits in next week’s budget as over 150 start-ups and Britain’s biggest small business body launch a fresh offensive on the Treasury.

In an open letter published last night, the group of start-ups wrote to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt warning that planned cuts to the R&D credits, outlined in the Autumn statement in November, will “significantly damage the UK’s start-up ecosystem”.

Hunt’s plans will see the the breadth of the existing scheme scaled back from the start of April and will slash the amount of R&D spend that start-ups can claim back from 33 per cent to 18.6 per cent.