Selected aspects of indirect R&D support in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Sustainable economic development and current global challenges accentuate businesses’ innovative activities across the size spectrum. Developed countries are looking for ways to support the acceleration of R&D activities. A mix of direct and indirect instruments is used for this purpose. Indirect instruments are implemented in the corporate environment primarily through various tax incentives. A widespread form of tax incentives represents the possibility of reducing the tax base by expenses related to R&D activities. The article analyses the amount and structure of companies in the Czech Republic, which use the deduction for research and development. The research sample includes all companies that filled out their tax returns between 2009 and 2020. The established hypotheses are tested using the methods of descriptive statistics, the Chi-Square test of independence, and the analysis of variance. The research results confirm a statistically significant difference between the average number of companies using deduction for research and development if those companies are classified according to their size. In addition, it was revealed that the number of companies using deduction for research and development has gradually declined since 2015. Furthermore, it was found that the structure of companies using the deduction for research and development changes over time.