Business News


HMRC report rise in R&D claims


HMRC statistics have revealed that there was a 24 per cent rise in the number of claims for research and development (R&D) tax credits submitted by West Midlands companies. The latest data shows that West Midlands companies submitted 4,145 claims for research and development tax credits in 2017-18, up from 3,340 in 2016-17 reported in September last year. UK-wide, the total amount of


R&D support claimed rose to £4.3bn, an increase of £1bn from the previous year. Commenting on the figures,


Sheetal Sanghvi, RSM’s regional head of R&D tax, said: “It’s very encouraging to see R&D claims from West Midlands companies rising so significantly. “This rise in claims has proved challenging for HMRC and companies applying for R&D tax reliefs have experienced significant delays in the processing of claims, sometimes up to nine months. “To the relief of claimants and


their advisers, new resource has cleared the backlog and HMRC is now better equipped to handle the higher levels of claims that we now see.”


UK inflation index hits a new low


A stronger pound and falling input prices have driven the BDO Inflation Index to fall to its lowest level since the EU referendum. The Index, which combines input inflation and


consumer price inflation data, fell by 1.39 points to 95.36 points in September. It now hovers on the brink of the deflationary threshold (95.0), signalling a potential economic downturn. A key driver of the fall is the reduction in the rate


of consumer price growth as shops seek to win back customers who are tightening their purse strings. At 91.86, the Input Inflation Index fell to a particularly low level in September, with producer prices continuing to decline year-on-year. Richard Rose, lead partner for the Midlands at


BDO, said: “A lower rate of input inflation brings some relief for manufacturing businesses, but can also ring alarm bells that the economy is heading towards a downturn. Unfortunately, these businesses will still have to contend with declining economic confidence which has been badly affected by the latest phase of the UK’s extended withdrawal from the EU. While any kind of Brexit resolution will restore some confidence, this doesn’t necessarily hold true if this resolution is through a no deal.”


Alarm bells for economy: Richard Rose


Elsewhere in the report, the economic outlook was


mixed with an increasing disparity between the manufacturing and services sectors. The BDO Manufacturing Output Index fell for a 12th successive month, hitting 88.00 in September - the lowest point since October 2016. However, overall output was propped up by the services sector, which saw the index rise by 1.02 points to 98.63 in September. The BDO Optimism Index remained flat at 96.26


points, with a small rise in services sector optimism negated by a weakened outlook for the manufacturing sector. However, at 102.16 points, the Manufacturing Optimism Index remains comfortably more resilient than the Services Optimism Index, which now sits at 95.52.


To download BDO’s Business Trends New Economy report and find out more visit www.neweconomy.bdo.co.uk


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t: 0121 745 2222 e: info@ecarsprivatehire.co.uk w: ecarsprivatehire.co.uk 20 CHAMBERLINK November 2019


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