This study examines the availability and incentive effects of the Research and Experimentation tax credit following structural changes in the computation of the credit enacted in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 (OBRA89). We find that overall firm eligibility declined after OBRA89,...

The U.S. Ramp;D credit has always been incremental in nature, providing a credit for qualified Ramp;D expenses exceeding some base amount. Originally, the base amount was the average of the previous three years' Ramp;D expenses (i.e., a moving average). After heavy criticism that the credit's...