Tech groups laud R&D tax credit extension in ‘fiscal cliff’ deal

In a letter sent to House leaders last month, TIA urged Congress to extend the R&D tax credit in its resolution to the so-called fiscal cliff and said that failure to do so “will cause the private sector to immediately drop or scale back research plans, dealing a devastating blow to U.S. competitiveness.”

{mosads}Robert Hoffman, senior vice president of government relations at ITI, wrote in a blog post published shortly after Tuesday’s House vote that the tax credit “leads to more innovations, patents, businesses, and jobs, and, as a result, tax revenue.”

“Extending the U.S. R&D tax incentive through 2013 provides a strong signal to our economic competitors that the United States is serious about maintaining our global leadership in innovation,” Hoffman added.

Tech companies have long supported efforts to make the tax credit permanent. 

“Renewing the R&D tax credit retroactively is one essential cornerstone to a robust innovation policy, but continued investment in R&D and certainty on fiscal issues such as tax policy are fundamental to keeping our nation’s technology sector at the forefront of the competitive global innovation economy,” said Kevin Richards, senior vice president of federal government affairs at TechAmerica, said in a statement.