RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
ADVERTISING FEATURE
Low-carbon fertiliser makes environmental and economic sense
A Swindon-based company has said that the increasing cost of fertiliser is significantly impacting the livelihoods of farmers .
CCm Technologies says that the cost of fertiliser , which uses gas as a key ingredient , has been directly impacted as a result of the war in Ukraine , adding around £ 78 million a month to UK farmers ’ bills .
In addition , traditional methods of fertiliser production have a significant carbon footprint .
CCM Technologies is currently developing a low-carbon fertiliser which it hopes can be part of the long-term solution , both environmentally and economically .
CEO , Pawel Kisielewski , said , “ The UK has entered into a food and energy crisis , damaging both consumers and farmers .
“ We don ’ t need to be in this situation . As the UK looks to meet net zero targets it must prioritise the acceleration of UK-based fertiliser products that are de-linked from international gas prices and reduce 30 % of global greenhouse gas emissions associated with traditional fossil fuel-based fertiliser .
“ One of the greatest challenges to global decarbonisation is the emissions associated with agriculture , and a huge part of this is fertiliser production .
“ There are now innovations capable of being deployed at commercial scale to tackle this problem . Low carbon fertilisers , like CCm ’ s , provide a win-win opportunity for Governments to address food insecurity and an over-reliance on gas , while still achieving their net zero targets without having a negative impact on costs for producers and consumers .”
For more info : www . ccmtechnologies . co . uk
Going for Growth through innovation
Understanding R & D with Purple Lime
Research and Development , commonly known as R & D , refers to innovative activities of various sizes carried out by companies to develop new products or improve existing ones to advance in their field . The Government is keen to support British innovation and started the R & D tax incentive to encourage companies to take the risk and invest in advancing .
A whole array of innovation activity is covered and application for an R & D tax claim is worth doing . Once the R & D tax return is accepted , the company can either reduce their tax bill or claim cash credits .
The R & D payment is usually paid by HMRC within 28 days of your claim being submitted . As it is a common type of operating expense , a company may deduct the R & D expenses on its tax return . The credits from your tax return are also seen as non-taxable income and are either shown as corporation tax reductions or as credit in your income statement .
What do you claim for ? You can claim for R & D tax credits in a multitude of areas , whatever industry you operate in , there will be room for innovation and therefore credits to be earned .
It ’ s useful to know that your company can claim for the costs directly attributed to the qualifying of your R & D claim . These include materials , water , fuel and power that may have been used in the process and even staff costs . R & D can be capitalized by the business classifying the activity going towards the claim as an asset rather than an expense if the project is viable .
How is R & D calculated ? The process for claiming involves identifying the R & D related expenditure that includes :
• Staff / Subcontractor costs
• Externally provided workers
• Software costs
• Apportionment of overheads where applicable
Here are some initial questions you may want to ask yourself when applying for R & D tax credits :
• Have your efforts helped advance your field ?
• Did you take a risk to endeavour ?
• Did you overcome any uncertainty ?
• Which size band of R & D relief does your company fit into ?
Answering these questions will help you get a clearer picture on your position when submitting an R & D claim and can help strengthen your case .
We understand that making it sound easy doesn ’ t make it an easy process . We encourage you to talk to your accountants and find out if you qualify , and if you don ’ t what you need to aim for next year . At Purple Lime , we pride ourselves on knowing our clients ’ businesses inside out and being able to assess areas where R & D credits may be successful .
If you aren ’ t sure where to start or if you simply want a second opinion , please get in touch by emailing : hello @ purplelime . uk . com or calling on 01249 691360 .
The costs identified will form part of the appropriate adjustments on one of the forms that will be uplifted depending on which scheme the company is applying for .
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