Shifting Tax Code Is ‘Crushing’ for Corporate R&D Viability

Companies are struggling to adjust to the impacts of recent tax code tweaks that are effectively penalizing research and development work, which in turn is leading to slashed spending or mulling operational moves overseas.

Section 174 of the tax code, as amended by the 2017 tax law, means companies would have to amortize R&D over a number of years rather than deduct them the year they went out, affecting the bottom line of businesses of all sizes, from large corporations to startups.

The change didn’t take effect immediately, but after years of hoping for repeal or changes, ...