Research and Development

This presentation was delivered at the IFS workshop 'The taxation of intellectual property and patent boxes'.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, yesterday confirmed that a Patent Box will be introduced in the UK in 2013. This policy will reduce the rate of corporation tax on the income derived from patents to 10%. Our analysis suggests that the policy will lead to a large reduction in UK tax receipts from the income derived from patents, is poorly targeted at promoting research, will add complexity to the tax system, and it is far from clear that any additional research resulting from the policy will take place in the UK.

This presentation was given at the Oxbridge Public Economics Lectures in October 2010

Today's GDP figures show that the economy grew by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2010. In the election campaign much has been made of the impact of the timing of spending cuts and tax increases on the ability of the UK economy to sustain this recovery. This is an important issue, but much less attention has been given to the equally important question of how UK growth is likely to fare in the medium term which will be largely determined by efficiency with which we produce goods and services and the extent to which we develop new ideas.

This presentation was given at the launch of the 2010 Green Budget.

Bruegel seminar

Presentation to the Strategy Unit and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The latest annual survey of Business Enterprise Research & Development, released by the Office for National Statistics this morning, shows another real increase in R&D spending during 2007, in line with growth in real national income. But will the recession throw this into reverse?