Sen. Gillibrand Announces Tax Credit Proposal in Nassau County

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, was in Nassau County Friday to announce a plan to make the federal Research and Development Tax Credit permanent, a move she said would "spur innovation and job creation on Long Island."

Gillibrand (D-NY) said that a recent tour of Clever Devices, LTD, inspired her to devise the new proposal.

"By supporting research and development, we can help our businesses become more competitive and create the high tech jobs of tomorrow," said said at the Plainview firm Friday morning. "This proposal would leverage more private investment in our high-tech sector, creating good paying jobs right here on Long Island."

In the past, the R&D (Research and Development) Tax Credit has been extended 14 times by Congress but never made permanent. "This has made it difficult for companies to make plans based on the support and investment from the program," said Gillibrand.  Her new proposal would:

• Expand the current credit by changing the formula to provide greater incentive for companies to increase investment.
• Simplify the current credit, which is highly complicated and confusing.
• Make the new credit permanent, which would provide private companies with the confidence they need to make significant future investments in R&D.

According to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, expanding the R&D Tax Credit will create over 162,000 jobs nationwide.  More than four-fifths of the credit costs are spent directly on wages for researchers.

Another motivating factor for the proposal was the drop in placement the US had as the global leader in providing tax incentives for private investment in R&D.

"Thirty years ago, we were number one, now we are ranked 17th," she said. "This proposal would expand our efforts to support long-term economic growth."

 "We are a transit technology solutions provider that relies heavily on the ability to develop software and hardware products to remain current and outpace the competition," said Frank Ingrassia, president and CEO of Clever Devices, who said R&D makes up a large portion of the company's corporate budget.  "We're honored to have any kind of involvement and support of this proposal, as it is vital to our progression as the world leader in technology."