AAB bolsters Innovation Tax Team with specialist engineer appointment

Anderson Anderson and Brown (AAB) has appointed “experienced” engineer Alejandro Alcala-Canales to join its Innovation Tax team.

Alcala-Canales joins AAB following a successful engineering career, and will be applying his sector-specific expertise to assist companies claiming R&D tax relief. As a specialist in Innovation Taxes, he will work with AAB’s team across its network of offices around the UK.

Prior to joining AAB, Alcala-Canales developed his specialist R&D expertise in a number of Innovation Tax relief roles. He has supported businesses with preparing R&D tax claims across the energy and renewables, manufacturing, construction, architecture and textiles sectors.

Having previously worked as a mechanical engineer, the firm said he has developed a “unique set of skills”, alongside the technological and scientific expertise to provide businesses with the support they need to submit a successful R&D claim.

The Innovations Tax team at AAB has secured £10m of tax savings for clients in the last three years alone. The team also utilises the available Patent Box tax relief in order to reduce the effective tax rate on the profits of companies and their commercial transactions.

Derek Gemmell, partner and head of Innovations Tax at AAB, said: “Alejandro is an excellent addition to our senior Innovations Tax team. R&D tax relief has become an increasingly important area as companies continue to innovate to create unique offerings, seeking new ways to grow and develop new products or service offerings.

“However, navigating through the process for claiming this relief can be a time-consuming challenge for businesses, with the risk of tax related penalties from HM Revenue & Customs should the claim be incorrect.”

He added: “Therefore, a specialist advisor to guide a company through the process of making a claim is always advisable, in order to ensure that robust evidence supporting the claim is available to HMRC if required. Such requirements are expected to become more common given recent HMRC consultation on the workings of R&D tax relief.

“Alejandro’s expertise adds a further dimension to our Innovations Tax offering, and to our ability to provide clients with solutions in this complex area.”

Alcala-Canales said: “I am delighted to be joining AAB at what is an incredibly exciting time for the business. The Innovations Tax team not only have a fantastic track record in delivering for clients in this space, but have ambitious growth plans. I am looking forward to playing my part in further developing this area of the business across Scotland and beyond.”