U.S. House Will Vote On R&D Tax Credit In Face Of White House Veto Threat

The U.S. House is expected to vote this week on legislation to make the research and development (R&D) tax credit permanent. H.R. 880, the American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2015, would restore, enhance, and make permanent the R&D tax credit and make it retroactive to January 1, 2015. It would also increase the alternative simplified credit (ASC) formula to 20 percent from the current 14 percent rate. 

According to the National Association of Manufacturers, the White House has threatened to veto H.R. 880 unless it is combined with a measure to “pay for” the tax reduction in it. 

To generate the vote total (280) necessary to sustain a presidential veto, NAM has urged companies and their employees affected by the R&D tax credit to call their representatives’ offices to urge them to vote for H.R. 880. As a reminder, you can find information for your U.S. House representative on MSCI’s website. (You can also contact your representative through NAM’s website.) 

According to analysts, the U.S. ranks number 27 out of 42 countries in terms of the value of our R&D credit to businesses. This low rank harms U.S. competitiveness and innovation. Analysts also estimate making the credit permanent would create up to 38,000 new jobs annually in the U.S. Please remember these statistics when you call your member of Congress early this week!