According to Robert Vanderwees, a major issue facing Canada’s fast-growing oil and gas sector is that many companies are missing out on substantial business incentives by not applying for programs such as Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED). In light of the changes to the SR&ED program proposed by the 2012 federal budget, companies in the oil and gas services space can maximize their benefits from the SR&ED program by:
• Accelerating any planned R&D projects to take advantage of the full program before 2014
• Purchasing now any capital equipment required for SR&ED work
• Considering putting key self-employed sub-contractors on payroll
