Senate approves extension to expired R&D tax credit

Late Tuesday the Senate voted to extend the research and development (R&D) tax credit sought by many tech vendors, adding it to the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act, which the House of Representatives passed in May. The tax credit, expired since December, can cover up to 20 percent of qualified R&D spending. It has expired 13 times since 1981, despite calls by tech, pharmaceutical, and manufacturing groups to make the tax credit permanent. Lawmakers have resisted making the tax break permanent largely because its price tag of about $7 billion a year. Some critics have called the tax credit a government subsidy for large businesses. The Senate bill, which passed by a 93-2 vote, included clean energy tax incentives, a revamp of the alternative minimum tax paid by individual taxpayers, and other extensions of expiring tax cuts. The clean energy tax incentives earned praise from TechNet, a network of tech CEOs, which said that green energy represents a huge economic opportunity for the US.