Skip to content

3D-Fuel Introduce a New Water-Soluble 3D Printing Filament

15760663749 6f445d6535 b

HydroSupport is a new water-soluble 3D printing filament created by the manufacturing company 3D-Fuel. The filament takes between 12 and 24 hours to dissolve entirely, and can be expedited by using agitation and warm water, such as a heated ultrasonic tank. It is non-toxic, as 3D-Fuel attempt to create sustainable printing filaments that won’t harm wildlife or the environment. The company make various environmentally friendly 3D printing filament including coffee, beer, landfill and hemp filament.

Available in 1.75 and 2.85mm diameters, Hydro-Support is strong and the end result feels like PLA. It is clear in color and is vacuum sealed to protect it from moisture in transit.

3D-Fuel manufacture all printer filament in their own manufacturing facilities in Fargo, North Dakota and Moville, Ireland. The quality is tested extensively on a range of 3D printers including MakerBot, FlashForge and LulzBot and the width is carefully controlled using a multi-axis laser measurement system to help prevent issues caused by fluctuating diameter.

HydroSupport is designed as an easy-to-use support material for printing complex inner geometry, deep cavities or large extensions. It is allegedly easier to print with than other water-soluble filaments on the market, like PVA, which has high water retention that can make print jobs harder. Support structures are used when a design consists of complex shapes that can’t be printed on their own. They are then removed after the object is printed. However, removing the supports can be difficult and dangerous when requiring chiseling or chemical bathing. Alternatively, HydroSupport does not require manual removal and does not contaminate the environment with chemicals.

3D printing is a great indicator of R&D expenditure. If your business is using 3D printing, you are likely eligible for the R&D Tax Credit. The R&D Tax Credit allows a credit of up to 13% on eligible spending on new and improved products and processes. Get in touch with the experts at Swanson Reed to find out more.

Photo credit: westonhighschoollibrary via Foter.com / CC BY-SA

R&D Tax Incentive inspiring ground-breaking research

science 1029385 960 720

3D printing has revolutionized hundreds of industries and has been particularly notable in the biomedical field. The technology is being used to make prosthetic limbs, replacements for bones, tendons, functional organ pieces and living human tissue for the testing and development of new drugs.

In 2007, Keith Murphy and Professor Gabor Forgacs from the University of Missouri founded the company Organovo. Organovo designs and prints functional human tissue for disease modelling and toxicology, human body implants and drug research and testing. The company also provides 3D printed tissue to academic facilities allowing future medics to get better training.

With the 3D printing market becoming increasingly more popular to invest into, particularly with the increase of government incentives for research and development, companies like Organovo can significantly benefit from substantial tax credits.

The federal R&D Tax Credit allows a credit of eligible spending for new and improved product and processes if qualified research meets the following four criteria:

  • New or improved products, processes or software
  • Technological in nature
  • Elimination of uncertainty
  • Process of experimentation

In 2015 the R&D Tax Credit became permanent, allowing the claiming of employee wages, cost of supplies, cost of testing, contract research expenses and costs associated with developing a patent. In 2016 start-up businesses could begin to utilize up to $250,000 credit in payroll taxes, which is particularly beneficial for 3D bio printing companies like Organovo, due to the long R&D time period of the projects.

The R&D tax incentive scheme has allowed for some ground breaking research achievements which will significantly benefit the wellbeing and treatment for people as well as improving future research. Organovo have been able to produce a 3D liver, named the ExVive Human Liver, which is being used to study predictive liver tissue-specific toxicity. The company has also created the ExVive Human Kidney which is being used to study nephrotoxicity due to drug responses. Additionally, the Missouri founded research company is also working on 3D printed tissue to be used as a source of therapy for patients with damage and disease to natural tissue.

Such ground-breaking findings pin point the significance of R&D tax credits in supporting innovation and development of revolutionary technologies. If you would like to find out more about the R&D incentive and whether your company may qualify for a tax credit, contact a Swanson Reed R&D tax specialist today, we look forward to speaking with you.

GE opens oil and gas R&D center in Oklahoma

1475771430341

Two test wells drilled deep underground and a well simulation towering five stories above, highlight the advanced research capabilities of GE’s Oil and Gas Technology Center.

GE have opened their oil and gas technology center in Oklahoma City, which is expected to become the central hub for the company’s scientists and engineers to collaborate with the oil and gas industry on digital and hardware solutions and advancements. The center consists of five stories and 125,000 sq ft of lab and office space, suitable for 230 employees.

The facility is designed to advance technology throughout the oil and natural gas industry, and is the company’s 10th worldwide research center, however, the first to specialize in one area.

GE’s CEO, Lorenzo Simonelli, says the research focus at the center will span across all areas of oil and gas such as; production solutions and well construction systems, oilfield facilities and systems, and reservoir performers. Simonelli believes a strong commitment to R&D will help the oil and gas customers find new efficiencies to work through tough market conditions and lead to transformational opportunities for the industry to thrive long term.

“This is a unique center from a global perspective and the plan is to be at the forefront and take the industry forward through applied technology,” Simonelli said. “Unconventional oil and gas drilling is taking place in other parts of the world. There is an opportunity to bring them in here to study and learn with others in the industry. This is going to provide the ability for commercialization of new technology and a new approach at a faster pace.”

The new technology center will accelerate innovation, the center will enable the full power of digital solutions and technology from across GE’s industrial businesses to advance the oil and gas industry.

While the oil and natural gas industry has used improved technology over the past decade to unlock vast amounts of oil and natural gas, the industry remains inefficient, said Mike Ming, general manager of the research facility. The new technology outcomes from this center will solve this issue by utilizing reserves in cost-effective and environmentally friendly ways and subsequently attracting companies from across the nation and around the world.

An innovative creation which has already been developed at the technology center is ‘Raven’ the prototype drone, engineered to detect emissions precisely and cost-effectively. ‘Raven’ has already been successfully piloted and was able to detect emissions from oilfield equipment at well sites in Arkansas. ‘Raven’ is one of many exciting developments to be produced from Oklahoma’s new research center.

To find out whether your company could qualify for the Federal Research Credit, Contact a Swanson Reed specialist.

Small Businesses Can Now Apply Research Credit to Payroll Tax Liability

accountant 1238598 1280

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is offering a new method for start-up businesses to claim the research tax credit. Small businesses with gross receipts under $5 million are now able to apply part or all of their research credit against their payroll tax liability, rather than their income tax liability. The business cannot have any gross receipts pre-2012.

Prior to 2016, this was not an option, but the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act legislation, passed in December 2015, has allowed the change. The payroll tax credit is a good choice for businesses with a small or non-existent income tax liability as up to $250,000 of research credit can be applied against their payroll tax liability.

How To Apply

The IRS recently released Notice 2017-23, which provides interim guidance regarding how eligible businesses can choose this option. To apply, the business must complete and attach Form 6765, Credit for Increasing Research to their income tax return. However, if a business has already filed this tax season, they can still take advantage of the new option. Due to a special rule for the 2016 tax year, businesses that did not originally choose the option can still do so by completing an amended return by December 31, 2017.

Once the option has been selected, businesses can claim the payroll tax credit by filling out Form 8974, Qualified Small Business Payroll Tax Credit for Increasing Research Activities and attaching it to their payroll tax return.

If you would like to discuss the research tax credit further, please do not hesitate to contact one of Swanson Reed’s offices today.

Which Texan City is Exceeding Tech Job Growth?

tech 1495181 640 1

From 2015 to 2016, tech jobs in Texas increased by 1.9%, producing 11,000 new jobs. Yet the standout city was Dallas, creating 2,978 jobs last year, mainly due to strong growth in computer systems design, telecommunications services and IT services.

With the exception of California, Texas hires more tech workers than any other state. Last year, 2,196 tech jobs were generated in Houston, 974 in Austin and 843 in San Antonio, bringing the total number of tech employees in the state to 592,960. These cities are among the fastest-growing metro areas in the US. Popular tech jobs include computer user support specialist with almost 5,000 workers in San Antonio alone, followed by application software developer with 4,620 employed.

Interestingly, Austin ranked 1st for start-up hubs based inland and 6th in the US overall, demonstrating that entrepreneurial activity is now occurring away from the typical coastal regions and well-known technology hubs. In actual fact, start-ups are now being formed in every state, in what has been termed, “The Rise of the Rest.” This is significant as high-growth start-ups provide the most potential for employment growth; they tend to create jobs faster than more established organizations.

Nationally, the tech sector grew by almost 3% in 2016, with California, New York, Florida and Massachusetts also among the top states for tech jobs. Tech job gains were largest in California, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Michigan.

Today, there are more US workers in tech jobs than in finance, transportation or construction. Since 2010, there has been a 2.7% gain each year for the sector. Technology is transforming every industry, as businesses become more and more reliant on IT for growth. Tim Herber from CompTIA, declared that, “Organizations of all sizes are embracing cloud-based technology solutions, expanding their mobile presence, fortifying cyber defenses and driving decision-making through advanced data analysis.”

The federal and state R&D Tax Credit is available to technology companies who are developing new or improved software, products, formulas or processes, among other activities. To find out whether your company is eligible, contact Swanson Reed R&D Tax Specialists.

Hawaii’s Emerging Agriculture Technology Industry

field 196173 1920

The farming industry in Hawaii is turning to all things tech.

“We’re seeing robots that can plant, water and seed a 10-by-10 plot, pick strawberries and shake mac nut trees. There are infrared sensors to show you how hot the plants are and how much water they need, and drones that can fertilize in perfect amounts,” says Cole Santos, co-founder of Maui Makers.

AgFunder, an online marketplace in ag company ventures, says investment in agriculture technology companies reached $4.6 billion in 2015, double the previous year.

The majority of technology-driven innovation targets valuable large-scale agribusinesses, primarily in the Midwest and along the West Coast, but things are different in Hawaii. The local farming scene is in transition, resulting in a slower adoption of new technologies and processes, says Joshua Uyehara, president of the Kekaha Agriculture Association board of directors.

“As the plantations have gone away, there’s been a void. It’s been a struggle to figure out our agriculture industry. As tech and ag progress in the world around us, we need to figure out how to step back into an industry that hasn’t been standing still. How do we jump back on the treadmill?”

There is a growing community focused on developing innovative solutions for smaller farms that also address Hawaii’s clean energy and food security goals. Among those active in the area are the state’s Energy Excelerator, Blue Startups, XLR8UH and Ulupono Initiative.

“Energy and agriculture are Hawaii’s two biggest advantages as well as our two biggest pain points,” says Tarik Sultan, managing partner at XLR8UH. “We need energy innovation because we’re paying four times more than everyone else. We need agricultural innovation because we have limited lands and resources. In the case of a catastrophic event, Hawaii wouldn’t last two weeks.”

Hawaii offers a tax credit to local companies performing any type of research and development. Thus, the farming companies turning to technology and innovative solutions would receive a credit from the government for doing so. To find out more about the federal and state R&D tax credit, contact one of our specialists by clicking here.

How wineries can utilize the R&D tax credit

purple grapes 553464 1920

Estimated at more than $12 billion annually, the research and development (R&D) tax credit is one of the biggest tax incentives available to businesses. The potential tax savings for wineries could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, many Californian wineries are missing out, with some completely unaware of the credit’s existence.

Wineries that fail to realize the maximum benefits of the R&D tax credit often do so because of a lack of understanding about what activities qualify as research, what expenditures qualify and what documentation is required to substantiate their claims.

Can you use this credit?

Understanding what classifies as qualified research is the starting point for any company looking to claim the credit. Eligibility can often quickly and easily be estimated by answering simple questions in the IRS’ four-part test:

1. Elimination of uncertainty. You must demonstrate that you’ve attempted to eliminate uncertainty about the development or improvement of a product or process.

2. Process of experimentation. You must demonstrate — through modeling, simulation, systematic trial and error, or other methods — that you’ve evaluated alternatives for achieving the desired result.

3. Technological in nature. The process of experimentation must rely on the hard sciences, such as engineering, physics, chemistry, biology and/or computer science.

4. Qualified purpose. The purpose of the research must be to create a new or improved product or process, resulting in increased performance, function, reliability or quality.

Documenting activities and expenses

Eligible expenses for the R&D tax credit are wages (as reported on Form W-2, box 1), supplies used in the research process, and contractor expenses that would be eligible if the same services were performed in-house.

After identifying qualified research, it’s critical to document the activities and demonstrate a connection between your qualified activities and your eligible expenses. The importance of this documentation cannot be overstated. Accurately tracking qualified activities and their related expenses can help your company realize the full benefit of the R&D tax credit.

Your company may already be documenting its R&D efforts, in which case it may just be a matter of improving the records you keep or making adjustments to your documentation processes to ensure that you capture the records necessary to properly support the tax credit.

Examples could include project notes, lab reports, emails or other documents that help demonstrate how your activities meet the four-part test.

Using the R&D tax credit

Companies that are not currently taxable should still take advantage of the R&D tax credit, since the federal credit can be carried back one year and forward 20 years. And many state R&D tax credit programs also have lengthy carry forward provisions.

Certain elections must be made on your tax returns, and it’s much easier to collect documentation and support for credits identified and claimed contemporaneously than to look back and do so historically. Recently, the R&D credit was enhanced and made permanent.

One enhancement allows eligible small businesses to use their credits to offset the alternative minimum tax, and another allows qualified small businesses to use up to $250,000 in credits against their payroll taxes. Both enhancements are a windfall for companies and business owners who haven’t been able to use their credits in the past.

 The amount of R&D tax credit that wineries can claim will depend on many factors, but the potential tax savings make it well worth the time it takes to investigate. Companies that haven’t previously taken advantage of the credits can look back to all open tax years — typically three to four years — to claim the missed opportunity.

University of Connecticut and startup developing colon cancer vaccine

Test Tubes small

The University of Connecticut and emerging immunotherapy company CaroGen Corp. have begun a collaboration to develop a vaccine for treatment of patients with colon cancer.

CaroGen’s proprietary technology platform will be applied to a specific target studied by UConn Health researchers Kepeng Wang, assistant professor of immunology, and Anthony T. Vella, professor and Boehringer Ingelheim Chair in Immunology.

CaroGen Corp.’s platform is a transformative virus-like vesicle (VLV) technology developed at Yale University School of Medicine and exclusively licensed by CaroGen for the development and commercialization of immunotherapies worldwide.

Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. It is expected to cause over 49,000 deaths during 2016, and the risk to individuals increases with age. Wang’s target, Interleukin-17 (IL-17), a pleiotropic pro inflammatory cytokine, can promote cancer-elicited inflammation and prevent cancer cells from immune surveillance.

The company will have the right to exclusively license intellectual property developed by UConn through this collaboration, for human and animal health use.

The company is one of 21 biotech startups now housed at the Technology Incubator Program (TIP) on the UConn Health campus in Farmington, which helps develop new biotechnology concepts into businesses. CaroGen is leveraging the resources of the program to develop a portfolio of immunotherapies, with a lead program in chronic hepatitis B viral infection in collaboration with researchers from Yale University School of Medicine and Albany Medical College.

It is also working on the development of VLV immunotherapies against C. difficile bacterial infection in collaboration with Kamal Khanna, assistant professor of immunology at UConn Health, and a vaccine against the Zika virus with Paulo Verardi, associate professor of pathology at UConn Storrs.

“CaroGen is proving to be both a scientific and entrepreneurial leader in Connecticut,” said Dr. Jeff Seemann, UConn’s vice president for research. “Dr. Almassian has led multiple efforts to apply the CaroGen technology in collaborations with UConn researchers where critical and urgent health care needs exist. We are very excited about this latest endeavor, which we believe will yield significant therapeutic and commercial opportunities through the combined expertise of UConn Health’s Department of Immunology and CaroGen.”

UConn’s Technology Incubator Program is a key component of BioScience Connecticut, the state’s initiative to position Connecticut to be a leader in bioscience research, boost the economy, and improve residents’ access to world-class medicine.

Income Boosts From Innovation Are Not Just For Laboratories

money

 

In an age of rapid change and modernization, hot words such as innovation, research and development, and growth are popularly thrown around. However, what many are still to realize, is the relation of innovation and companies that have nothing to do with lab coats.

 

Business Innovation quoted Martin Parkinson saying, “We tend to think of innovation as being done by start-ups or people in white coats, but it’s much more than that. By and large our greatest gains have come from building a culture that adapts and diffuses the ideas of others.”

 

Innovation is for everyone. In fact, Business Insider claims that, “innovation is good for income.” Innovation can be the adaption of a product manufacturing line to include newly redesigned technology or functionality. Innovation can be the development of new software technology that allows vehicles to autopilot completely, differentiating that company from the market. Innovation can be the research and creation of a new screening technology for cancer within the body.

 

Through the process of research and development (R&D), innovations can increase income when successfully applied. The world’s most successful and innovative companies are known for their large R&D programs turning innovation into business and revenue.

 

Business Insider reports that the majority of innovation stems from previously existing ideas that are then adapted and altered. For companies that are not yet profitable or for startups investing in R&D, the research and development tax incentive is a valuable tool.
If  you would like to discuss the R&D Tax Incentive further, please do not hesitate to contact one of Swanson Reed’s offices today.

R&D Within the Smartphone Industry

bigstock Focused On His Work BW e1456197707778

Reuters reported Apple’s commitment to invest roughly $44 million in a research and development center in Indonesia. The investment will allow Apple to begin selling the iPhone 7 as the government has stipulated 30 percent of handsets sold within the country must be made of local content which includes hardware, software or investment commitment.

 

Apple’s local content certification received in November allows the company to begin selling the iPhone 7 as of January 2017.  The agreement allows Apple to sell products of $488 (6 million rupiah) value and above.

 

As said by Suryawirawan, director general of metal, machines, transport equipment and electronics at the industry ministry, ” they can distribute devices priced 6 million rupiah ($448) and above. That means all iPhones can be distributed.”

 

With Samsung controlling 26 percent of the smartphone sales in Indonesia, and China’s OPPO holding 19 percent market share, Apple will have tough competition for one of the biggest social media markets worldwide.

 

The company has been trying to enter the market for some time, however, as Q3 of 2016 showed Apple’s first decline in revenue in over 15 years, this is a very important moment. As the iPhone comprises two thirds of the of the company’s total revenue the success of this market would have a large impact on revenue.

If  you would like to discuss the R&D Tax Incentive further, please do not hesitate to contact one of Swanson Reed’s offices today.