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Business Tax Incentives and Investments

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  • Thomas Karier

Abstract

For more than twenty years, U.S. tax policy offered businesses a credit based on a percentage of investment in equipment. The stated purpose of the investment tax credit was to encourage investment as a means to further modernization, job growth, and competitiveness. The results of this study, however, indicate that investments were not significantly higher when the credit was in force than during periods when it was not. While the credit may have increased the rate of return on equipment investments, additional tests fail to find an increase in investment spending due to this particular incentive. The results also suggest that only a small fraction of additional corporate income generated by the credit was likely to have been spent on investment. Given the need to encourage investment spending, especially during recessions, alternatives to investment tax credits should be pursued. A logical alternative is a broader program of public investment in education, infrastructure, and research.

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  • Thomas Karier, 1994. "Business Tax Incentives and Investments," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_103, Levy Economics Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_103
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. J. Bradford De Long & Lawrence H. Summers, 1991. "Equipment Investment and Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 445-502.
    2. Peter K. Clark, 1993. "Tax Incentives and Equipment Investment," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 24(1), pages 317-347.
    3. Laurence H. Meyer & Joel L. Prakken & Chris P. Varvares, 1993. "Policy Watch: Designing an Effective Investment Tax Credit," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 189-196, Spring.
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    Cited by:

    1. Neil H. Buchanan, 1996. "A Critique of Competing Plans for Radical Tax Restructuring," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_173, Levy Economics Institute.

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