... at the same level of 1.2 per cent of GDP since 1997. The Government is determined to close the UK's productivity gap with comparable international economies and is seeking to boost UK R&D investment to 2.5% of GDP by 2014. An increase in the levels of business R&D will stimulate business innovation and help raise productivity, particularly in the manufacturing sector, which undertakes the majority of R&D in the UK. The Government has introduced R&D tax credits, an incentive in the form of tax relief for companies of all sizes to raise their R&D investment levels. Tax credits work by allowing companies to deduct up to 150% of qualifying expenditure on R&D activities when calculating their profit for tax purposes. Right now, the UK is arguably the best place in the world to do R&D as a result of the outstanding science, engineering and technology base and stable macroeconomic environment. We have seen ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now