As readers of the business column will realise the technology industry is rapidly growing.

A lot of this is down to tax relief like R&D and Patent Box.

The Patent Box tax break was introduced by the government on April 1, 2013.

Patent box allows profits earned from the commercial exploitation of intellectual property to be taxed at the lower rate of 10 per cent.

Since the inception of the tax break, the use by companies of reliefs for shifting profits from one jurisdiction to another has come under media and political scrutiny.

So much so that the patent box will most likely be reined in due to an agreement between the UK and Germany which will be scrutinised by the G20 and the OECD before being confirmed.

If the proposal is accepted, the relief will be withdrawn completely by June 2021 and will be closed to new entrants from June 2016.

In light of the potential withdraws of the relief, now is the time to act for companies which hold patents.

Companies have until June 2016 to make an election to benefit from the reduced rate.

The election can be done alongside a company tax return and must be made within two years after the end of the accounting period in which the relevant income arose.

If your company does hold a patent, and would like to discuss the use of the relief then please contact Elliott Buss on 01633 213318.