Month: May 2018

What do you do with your cooking oil when it’s no longer any good for frying? This might seem like a simple enough question but there are plenty of people who don’t really know the best way to dispose of it. The temptation is to pour it down the drain or tip it into your compost bin. Both of these are the worse thing you can do with your old cooking oil.

Pouring it down the sink means you’re risking a problem with blocked pipes. As it cools down, the oil will re-solidify and can cause your drain pipes and sewers to become blocked. The same will happen, even if you try to break the oil down with soap and hot water. As well as blocking your pipes it will also harm wildlife in the waterways. This is because a build up of oil can lead to levels of oxygen in the water dropping. Thereby suffocating any wildlife.

Composting your oil is not a solution either. It will never get hot enough in your bin to break it down.

Disposing of Domestic Cooking Oil

Once the oil has cooled down you should transfer it to a sealable container, preferably one that can’t be recycled. If the oil is from lard or dripping, once it has solidified you can throw it in the bin. The oil that has been collected will be accepted at a recycling centre near your home. Many now take waste cooking oil and don’t make a charge.… Read More

What you need to know about the RDEC Scheme

Companies of all sizes have been benefitting from research and development tax credits since the scheme was introduced in April 2000. The initiative was introduced to ensure Britain remains at the forefront of scientific and technological innovation and offers remuneration for R&D expenditure for eligible projects.

Two schemes are available: the SME scheme and the R&D Expenditure Credit (RDEC) scheme. The former is reserved for businesses of under 500 employees, who have an annual turnover of less than €100m or a balance sheet total under €86m. Any businesses exceeding these figures fall under the latter scheme, as do those in receipt of non-Notified State Aid grants.

Claiming under the RDEC scheme

Claiming under the RDEC scheme has similar qualifying criteria to claiming under the SME scheme. Namely, that the project for which tax relief is being sought should be seeking to resolve a scientific or technological uncertainty that cannot be easily worked out by another professional in that field. The guidance given by HMRC is deliberately vague, thereby enabling a range of activities in a multitude of sectors to qualify for the tax credits.

What can be claimed?

The tax credit equates to 12% of your businesses’ qualifying expenditure – costs such as workers’ salaries, Class 1 NICs payments, consumables and utilities are examples of this. Any costs incurred from the date the work started to the date the project was completed or abandoned can be claimed for. This credit … Read More