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Spain offers the most advantageous R&D&I tax incentives among OECD countries

Experts agree that despite Spain’s highly favorable regulation, companies are not fully maximizing R&D&I tax incentives.

“Companies are not taking full advantage of the tax credits available for R&D&I,” stated Santiago Janer Busquets, principal associate in the Tax Department of Garrigues’ Palma de Mallorca office. Likewise, Juan José González, CEO de Innóvalis, an innovation management company supporting businesses’ R&D&I projects, considers that “companies are not maximizing the tax credits to which they are entitled, which significantly affects their competitiveness.”

These statements were made during a conference held at the offices of the Balearic Island’s business owners association, the Confederación de Asociaciones de Empresarios de Baleares (CAEB), on May 10. During his speech, Mr. Janer discussed the current Spanish tax incentive system for R&D&I activities, which, in his opinion, is “undoubtedly one of the most advantageous of all OECD member countries.” Drawing from his expert knowledge, Mr. Janer summarized the main features of and requirements for applying current incentives, providing detailed insights on how companies can choose to monetize the tax credits generated through corporate income tax.

Mr. Janer was invited to speak at the conference, titled “How to Maximize Innovation,” along with Aenor. The conference was organized by CAEB and Innóvalis to help companies fully optimize tax incentives for R&D&I activities.

Sergio Bertrán, general secretary of CAEB, emphasized that “research, development and innovation activities have become an essential competent for economic growth of any developed society,” and that “a large part of the business community is still very unfamiliar with this issue, even though Spain has one of the best R&D&I tax frameworks in the European Union, with a return of up to 59% on expensed incurred.”

Gerardo Malvido, R&D&I manager at Aenor, pointed out that “certification endows organizations with legal certainty in accessing both corporate income tax credits for R&D&I, at up to 42% of related expenses, and the 40% tax relief on employers’ social security contributions for research personnel.”

Tax