WASHINGTON-Telecom and tech groups applauded President Bush’s signing into law legislation extending the research and development tax credit for 18 months.
The R&D tax break benefits U.S. telecom and high-tech equipment manufacturers. The credit, which expired June 30, will be extended retroactively from July 1, 2004 through Dec. 31, 2005.
“The 18-month extension of the R&D credit will provide continuity and a sense of assurance that research is important to the future of our country,” said Matthew Flanigan, president of the Telecommunications Industry Association. “In the long run, however, we want to see this credit made permanent. Permanency will provide an important stimulus for companies to invest and conduct research and development in the United States. This will lead to technological innovations that create jobs at many skill levels, as well as increases in productivity, new products, economic growth and living standards for millions of Americans.”
TIA said technological advances accounted for more than one-third of the nation’s economic growth during the last decade.
“The credit creates a more competitive and business-friendly environment for high-tech here by lowering the cost of high-risk research, which in turn helps keep investment dollars in the U.S., “said Dave McCurdy, president of the Electronic Industries Alliance.
