Incentivi fiscali agli investimentiin R&S: una proposta per l'Italia

The low level of business expenditure in R&D (BERD) in Italy – its ratio to GDP was less than 0.6% in 2004, well below the EU average – urges the adoption of fiscal incentives to R&D, as suggested by the European Commission, in order to achieve the EU objectives set in Barcelona (2002): 3% of total R&D expenditures to GDP by the year 2010 (2/3 from the business sector). This paper presents an analysis of the main reasons and characteristics of the tax incentives to BERD and a proposal for Italy. A permanent tax credit on total BERD is proposed and its effects are analysed under alternative scenarios. Estimates show that a permanent tax credit between 15% and 52% of total BERD should foster R&D business expenditure by generating an annual growth ranging from 5% to 15%, letting the BERD to GDP ratio to rise to a maximum of 1.3% within 5 years.