In their August 2012 pre-budget consultation, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) addressed federal measures needed for sustained economic recovery. One of the issues that they addressed was the SR&ED program. The improvement of the SR&ED program is mandatory for Canada to stay competitive. CICA suggested that SR&ED should be improved in the following manner:
- The program should focus on encouraging companies that promote growth in SR&ED irrespective of the size of the company.
- Amendments related to reducing the general SR&ED tax credit rate and excluding capital expenditures should be repealed or deferred until a later date.
- The SR&ED investment tax credit should be made partially refundable for all businesses, which is particularly important for US-based MNEs for which non-refundable tax credits are less relevant.
- An innovation-friendly industry strategy could be further supported through tax incentives for those (investors) who finance such endeavours.
