As today’s headlines concentrate on a rise in National Insurance for the self-employed, there could be some good news for the creative industry.
That’s according to R&D tax relief firm, Jumpstart. They’ve welcomed the chancellor’s comments that he would be reviewing and “lessening the administrative burden” of the scheme.
“Creative and digital businesses are amongst the biggest claimants of R&D tax credits. Making the application around the R&D tax credit scheme more straightforward can only be a good thing and will help to ensure continued innovation across creative and digital sectors,” explained Ian Wolfendale of Jumpstart’s North West team.
“Jumpstart previously stated that the UK’s exit from the EU could bring about a subsequent ‘loosening of the shackles’ which bind us when it comes to R&D tax relief, and it looks like this is indeed the case.”
The chancellor also announced a £16m boost for the creation of a “fifth generation” (5G) technology hub and £200m for local projects to encourage private sector investment in full-fibre broadband networks.
However, with the creative industry not quite “white van men”, but certainly being predominantly entrepreneurial, the hike in National Insurance is likely to be of a more pressing matter, with the changes meaning a self-employed person would be paying on average 60p per week more. With amends to the personal allowance, the Treasury explained that nobody earning less than £16,250 would be worse off.
