21 June 2009    Media Statement  

      
Government urged to bring back R&D tax credit  
       

Finance Minister Bill English needs to listen to the concerns of those in the tradable sector, says Labour's Research and Development, Science and Technology spokesperson Moana Mackey.

Ms Mackey is supporting the call from the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA) for the Government to reinstate Labour’s Research and Development Tax credit.
 
"There is no doubt that low investment in R&D is hurting our tradable sector. If the Government was serious about lifting New Zealand out of recession faster they would reinstate Labour's R&D tax credit,” Moana Mackey said.

“Their failure to do so further proves the National Government has no plan for tackling the recession.
 
The NZMEA call comes in the wake of recently released R&D statistics showing business sector investment in R&D was at 0.51 percent of GDP, about one third of the OECD average.

Since the election the National Government has cancelled Labour's R&D tax credits, scrapped the Fast Forward Fund, and limited funding for Research, Science and Technology.

"Clearly this government sees no role for innovation in our economy. This was evidenced by the fact that not a single research or science organisation was invited to the jobs summit. In fact, the Minister of RS&T himself was excluded,” Moana Mackey said.

"The National Government raised taxes for our most innovative companies when they cancelled the R&D tax credit before Christmas last year.

“It's time they admitted they were wrong and reinstated this important investment incentive,” Moana Mackey said.

ends

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