Following a consultation earlier in the year, the UK government has published draft legislation on the proposed design of a merged R&D tax relief scheme. The draft proposes that the existing schemes – the R&D expenditure credit (RDEC) and the SME R&D relief – be merged into a single scheme that would operate as an above-the-line expenditure credit (in line with the current RDEC). Given the value of R&D tax relief to the life sciences…