Hundreds of U.S. Companies Urge Congress to Pass R&D Credit

Today, more than 400 companies and business organizations from across the United States this week urged Congress to approve legislation to strengthen and make permanent the R&D tax credit before it expires on December 31, 2009.  The letter was organized by the R&D Credit Coalition. Studies show that more than 70% of the benefits of the credit are attributable to the salaries of workers performing U.S. based research.  President Barack Obama in recent months has called for the Credit to be made permanent.

In a letter sent to Congressional leadership and every member of the U.S. Congress, the companies wrote:

“Failure to enact a permanent and strengthened credit will have significant negative consequences for the U.S. economy and threatens investments we need to make in important areas of the economy such as renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, health care, biotechnology, manufacturing processes, and information and communications technologies. Now is not the time to back away from the spirit of invention. Now is the time to embrace it wholeheartedly. Businesses need certainty to make long-term, high risk investments in the U.S. Furthermore, a strengthened credit will be more competitive with incentives provided by other countries that are vying for research investment dollars.

We respectfully urge you to approve legislation to strengthen and make permanent the R&D tax credit as soon as possible.”

 Earlier this year, President Obama said that the R&D Credit “returns $2 to the economy for every dollar we spend. Yet over the years we've allowed this credit to lapse or we've extended it year to year -- even just a few months at a time. Under my budget, this tax credit will no longer fall prey to the whims of politics and partisanship.”

Companies and organizations signing the letter to Congress represent virtually every industry sector from manufacturing, health care, energy, technology, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, aerospace, agriculture, biotechnology and more.  A copy of the letter is available upon request and is available on the R&D Credit Coalition website at www.investinamericasfuture.org.