Productivity is Innovation, Not Invention
On October 17, 2011, the federally appointed panel, chaired by Open Text chief strategy officer Tom Jenkins, released an assessment of the government’s $7-billion in annual investment in “business R&D”. The report recommended significant changes to the incentive programs and singled out the Scientific Research & Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit, the largest program, which […]
The Jenkins Report
A year ago, Tom Jenkins (chairman and chief strategy officer at Open Text Corp) was asked to lead a committee that was going to investigate how Canada can see better results from the money being spent on innovation in Canada. On Monday, the Jenkins report was released. The report is hopefully a first step in […]
The CRA’s SR&ED Service Standards
The CRA released their average processing times for claims during the months of April 2011 through September 2011. Overall, it’s looking a lot better than it was previously – the total average numbers have all fallen since we last spoke about this at the beginning of this year. Average Processing Time April 2011-September 2011 Type […]
The CRA’s Average Processing Time of SR&ED Claims
The CRA released a report looking at their average processing time for SR&ED claims that were submitted between April 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010. The results are: Type of Claim Average Days within CRA’s control Average Days outside CRA’s control Total Average Time (days)* Refundable claims (submitted within 120 days) 39 29 68 Refundable claimant-adjusted […]
SR&ED in the National Post
There was an interesting article in the National Post entitled, A little bit of give and take about a claimant’s experience with the SR&ED program over the years. The article explores how CRA reviews of claims used to be about the technology, whereas now they are more about paperwork – and there is speculation that […]
The New Claim Review Manual
Along with the other changes that the CRA has been implementing over the past couple years, the Claim Review Manual has been updated. This is the manual that tells the CRA reviewers what processes they need to follow when reviewing an SR&ED claim. This review manual is meant to make the review process more consistent […]
Surviving Foreign Competition
Aggressive offshore competition isn’t new to us here. Let’s face it – it can be tough to survive when products similar to yours can be purchased for a fraction of the price from a company that doesn’t even operate in Canada. This can lead to a huge reduction in sales, can result in non-profit situations, […]
Upcoming Changes to the SR&ED Program
A press release has been issued about some upcoming changes to the SR&ED program. A few points mentioned by Minister Blackburn today, while addressing the 13th Annual Tax Practitioner Information Session, relate to upcoming changes to the SR&ED program: starting on April 1st, 2010, reviewers will be spending more time explaining the program (requirements, application […]
What about failed projects?
We often tell people that failed projects are embraced by the SRED program, and sometimes it can be a little hard to understand exactly why. I mean, isn’t the program meant to promote innovation, and to encourage technological development? If so, then why are projects that don’t result in a more innovative product or process […]
SR&ED & foreign-owned companies
Canadian companies definitely have an advantage when it comes to research and development tax credits. Canada is rated among the Top G20 countries when it comes to Research and Development. The government encourages Canadian companies to do their research in Canada with tax credits and cash back incentives to remain manufacturing in Canada. Foreign companies […]