UK details R&D tax break

The British government last week revealed details of its promised extension of the R&D tax break, as Gordon Brown, chancellor of the exchequer, announced that companies would be allowed to deduct 125% of R&D spending from their taxable income.

In March, the government decided to extend its R&D tax scheme for small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) to cover all companies starting April 1 (see BioCentury, April 1). The break, pegged at up to £400 million ($574 million), aims to boost R&D among more than 1,500 large companies operating in the U.K. that spend more than £11 billion ($15.7 billion) on R&D annually...