Ireland Opts Against Expanding R&D Tax Credit to Innovation

Ireland won’t expand its research and development tax credit to include expenditures on innovations as the idea isn’t economically feasible, the government said Monday.

The considerable expenditure and potential deadweight cost of expanding support, a major request among multinationals, means the government will look at another type of tax-based tool for innovation, the Department of Finance announced in a new R&D Compass.

Ireland launched a review of its current supports for R&D last year after announcing a planned to increase its tax credit from 30% to 35% of qualifying expenditure.

Multinationals hoped the review would result in an expansion ...