U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan has vowed to continue her efforts to reinstate the full U.S. Research and Development tax deduction for small businesses and startups. Courtesy photo

MANCHESTER – During the seventh annual Innovate New Hampshire Forum, U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) vowed to continue her efforts to restore the full U.S. Research and Development tax deduction for small businesses and startups.

“As years go by and industries change, Granite Staters’ drive to innovate, that irrepressible, enterprising spirit of creativity and discovery, has always endured and is at the heart of everything that the entrepreneurs do each and every day,” said Hassan. “So make no mistake, business leaders all across the state are the engine of our economic success and allow New Hampshire to punch far above its weight.”

Enacted in 1981, the R&D deduction was eliminated in 2017 as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. At the time, the Joint Committee on Taxation determined that removing the deduction would produce a savings of $119.7 billion.

In 2022, the U.S. Senate passed an amendment that called for the reinstatement of the R&D deduction. The final legislation doubled the amount of the R&D credit; however, that was only one part of the deduction.

Hector Xu, CEO of Rotor Technologies, shared the importance of having the R&D deduction.

“Research and development is a big portion of what we do,” he said. “So, I think the R&D (deduction), which we take advantage of every year, it helps us attract the best talent to New Hampshire.”

Also during the forum, Andrea Hechavarria, president and CEO of New Hampshire Life Sciences, said the Granite State is becoming a leader in the life sciences field.

“There’s so many companies across amazing industries that are on the cutting edge. The Live Free or Die mentality runs so deep within our life sciences community,” she said. “What makes New Hampshire really attractive for these companies is that we’re really this beacon for businesses because of the business-friendly policies across the state – the low taxes, the access to the ecosystem, the camaraderie and the collaboration that happens across our institutions.”