By virtue of its top billing, the number 1 is usually always a priority – it’s a good thing to be Number 1 if you are on a sports team or you’re waiting in line for a concert ticket.
Today, the number 1 was a good thing for business because the Senate Ways and Means Committee took up SB1, a bipartisan plan to double New Hampshire’s research and development tax credit and repeal the sunset provision in current legislation. The bill was sponsored by 21 state senators and five state representatives and the committee voted 5-0 to send along. This is a number 1 priority.
Gov. Hassan visited Globe Manufacturing in Pittsfield last week as part of her Innovate NH tour. The company makes fire suits used around the world.
Under this bill, the tax credit would go from $1 million to $2 million and it would be permanent – it would never go away – and New Hampshire would be among the majority of states that offer this incentive to businesses.
Sure, other states may offer more, but this is our way of being supportive of businesses that spend time and money looking for ways to be faster, stronger, lighter, economical and otherwise more productive and cutting edge because, in the end, we all benefit.
“It is one more incentive for out of state businesses to consider New Hampshire, particularly our high tech sector, which in turn helps the state to provide well-paying jobs and further diversify the economy,” said Christopher Way, interim director of the Division of Economic Development at this morning’s hearing. “Companies of all sizes gain as it encourages small companies to remain on the leading edge of R&D, which also benefits the larger companies they in turn supply.”
Also testifying at the hearing were representatives from several businesses, trade organizations and manufacturers from around the state, including New England Wire Technologies, located in Lisbon; Freudenberg , with eight locations in New Hampshire, and Graphicast of Jaffrey. In all, about two dozen people attended this hearing.
Companies that are devoting time and money to research and development will gain and it will help, as Val Zanchuck, president of Graphicast, noted, being awarded the credit enabled him to hire three interns from Dartmouth College to conduct research on the company’s manufacturing process.
First introduced in 2007, the R&D tax credit is increasingly popular. Last year, 111 companies applied for a total of $4.1 million. Since only $1 million is available, the companies received a pro-rated amount, so one requesting the maximum of $50,000 received $12,065.
By doubling the amount available, companies would get a greater return on their applications. It tells them, and any prospective business considering a move or expansion here, that innovation matters here and that New Hampshire is committed to that.
Lorna Colquhoun
Communications Director
Division of Economic Development
