Tax incentives for R&D in emerging economy conditions: direction of reforms for Ukraine

One of the main features of tax incentives for R&D is the creation of certain benefits for society in general and industry enterprises in particular. This is achieved by attracting additional investments for the development of the innovative sphere of the economy. International practice confirms the effectiveness of tax mechanisms for stimulating R&D both in advanced economies and in those economies that are developing and considered as emergent. Governments use these mechanisms both as a tool to support broad R&D and as a targeted public policy to foster innovation in specific fields. The article is devoted to the justification of the expediency of using tax incentives for research and development for the innovative development of industrial enterprises in Ukraine.The features of using the investment tax credits in the sphere of research and development in the conditions of the emergent economy are considered including the ease of implementation, attraction of the private investments, reducing the effective tax burden on businesses and so on. The main requirement of R&D investment tax credit should be the activity in the sphere of the scientific and technological progress.The features of using the volume and incremental scheme of qualified expenses (income) in calculating the tax credit for investment in R&D in different countries of the world are identified. It was determined that the volume tax credit for investment in R&D is more appropriate for applying in developing countries because it is simple to use by enterprises and to administrate by state and it contributes to the growth of profits of large enterprises, and, consequently, increases investment in research and development. In contrast to the incremental scheme aimed mainly at stimulating the small and medium-sized businesses, tax incentives for large enterprises by means of the volume tax credit for investment in R&D is a more effective tool for ensuring stable GDP growth rates in the conditions of socio-economic crisis.The improved evolutionary approach to tax incentives for R&D is proposed. It is aimed at researching the tax incentives for industrial enterprises in the context of providing them with a volume tax credit for investment in R&D. It was determined that the application of tax incentives in the field of research and development can contribute to the growth of investment activity of enterprises and to accelerate their innovative development. The limited budget financing of industry in the country can be compensated, at least in part, with the help of such a tax policy tool as a volume tax credit for investment in R&D.