Tax Incentives as an Innovation Policy Tool in New Member States of the EU
| Authors | |
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| Year of publication | 2020 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on European Integration 2020 |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Keywords | innovation; public support; research and development; tax incentive |
| Description | Research and development is considered to be an essential source of innovation, especially of radical innovation. However, conducting research and development is expensive, and its results are uncertain. National governments, therefore, seek to motivate enterprises to invest in R&D by providing them with support for research activities. Direct support in the form of subsidies is the most commonly used instrument. On the other hand, in the last 15 years, indirect R&D support has become a popular tool for research enhancement. This kind of support lies in providing various tax incentives for R&D expenditures, such as R&D tax credit, R&D tax allowance, payroll withholding tax credit, accelerated depreciation for R&D capital and social security contributions. With respect to the European competition law, such support is not considered state aid. The article deals with the use of tax incentives for research and development in countries that entered the EU in 2004. We compare the instruments used and their fundamental characteristics. The contribution also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of indirect support compared to direct support. |
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