Firms Push For R&D Tax Credit
More than 5,000 employees from 135 companies sent a letter to House and Senate lawmakers Tuesday urging them to expand and make permanent the research and development tax credit, which is set to expire at the end of the year. The House passed legislation Wednesday that would provide a one-year extension of the R&D tax credit along with extensions of other tax breaks. But House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said this week that the tax breaks included in the bill could expire before the Senate has a chance to act on the legislation, CongressDaily reported.
A wide range of companies including many tech firms are calling on Congress to make permanent the R&D tax credit and to expand it. Companies argue that short-term extensions of the credit fail to provide firms with the certainty they need to invest in long-term research projects. "We applaud any progress in Congress before the credit expires," TechAmerica President Phil Bond said in a statement. "Yet America's economic challenges demand bolder action. The long looming expiration has already undermined the ability to innovate at the many companies that have completed their fiscal year." The R&D Credit Coalition, which organized the letter to Congress, also says that the value of the credit has eroded over time and fallen in relation to what other countries provide.
"The R&D credit fuels innovation and pays the wages of skilled workers in 17,700 companies across all 50 states and is one of the best ways to stimulate future economic growth," the employees wrote in their letter to lawmakers. "As you work to boost the U.S. economy, please quickly strengthen and make permanent the R&D tax credit." Many of the employees who signed the letter work for such companies as the aviation electronics and communications firm Rockwell Collins, drug maker Pfizer, medical researcher Abbott Labs, and semiconductor equipment and services provider Lam Research Corporation.
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