One of the great aspects about SR&ED tax credits and benefits is that it can be accessed by a wide variety of sectors. Automotive, biotech and agricultural industries have all enjoyed the benefits of SR&ED, but what about those trying to help our world stay clean and green? Read below as BeneFACT reviews SR&ED benefits in the green space.
Green and clean can be a virtual goldmine when it comes to SR&ED eligible activities. As environmentally-friendly initiatives become a priority with companies BeneFACT often finds that new greener products or processes are developed leading to impressive SR&ED projects. In the past, projects that have benefitted from the SR&ED program included:
As changes are being made to the SR&ED program, it’s interesting to hear more and more stories about how the cuts may affect certain sectors. In a recent article on Tyee.ca, it is mentioned that these changes may have a radical long-term effect on the cleaning up of the oil sands in Alberta. With the cutting of capital expenditures and the general SR&ED rate dropping to 15% (enhanced rate remaining at 35%), environmentally-friendly solutions may begin to take a back seat.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May has also spoken out about SR&ED and green initiatives. She has said that R&D has been dropping and that although the 2012 innovation funding changes which included SR&ED cuts provides more direct funding for specific companies, these “lucky winners” are chosen by the government which may not assist the green initiatives across the board.
Although the SR&ED program is in the midst of change, there is a large benefit from filing SR&ED claims for eligible activities in the green and clean technology industries. The more resources that can be put back into green research and innovation the better our country will be.
