The R&D Tax Break and Bipartisan Support for Its Restoration

First, the “what”—what are research and development (R&D) tax breaks or credits? Glad you asked. At the highest level, they’re a slate of tax incentives designed to attract firms with high R&D expenditures to one country or another.

Since 1954, Section 174 and its related regulations have allowed businesses to expense qualified research spending in year one, rather than needing to capitalize and amortize such expenses in a way similar to more general business expenses. So-called qualified research spending encompasses expenditures incurred in connection with a trade or business and representing research and development costs—things like the ...