R&D tax credits for jobs not utilised

WHILE two-thirds of technology firms in Ireland have said they are seeking to hire staff in 2011, some companies may not be fully utilising R&D tax credit incentives that may be used to hire additional key employees.

According to the Mazars R&D Tax Group Job Creation Survey, 41% of companies are looking for employees with postgraduate qualifications.

The survey also found that 77% of companies intend to take on more employees in 2012, with over half indicating they would hire more staff if R&D tax credit incentives could be used to finance the cost of taking on new employees. However, 42% of technology companies are not aware that R&D tax credit incentives can assist in hiring key new staff.

Mark Byrne, head of R&D Tax Group in Mazars, said that the results confirm an exceptionally positive outlook for the Irish technology sector.

“This confirms that continued investment in higher education and the knowledge economy is essential. Our survey, in a straightforward manner, confirms that the reward for greater and focused investment in education is greater employability.”

Gerry Vahey, Tax Partner at Mazars, said, & “It is interesting to note that 42% of tech companies are not aware that R&D tax credit incentives can assist in financing new, key staff additions. These companies need to be fully informed of the options available to them, especially since 55% of the firms state they would hire new staff if they could part-finance this cost through R&D tax incentives.”