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OBBB signed: Reinstates immediate expensing for U.S.-based R&D

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342 points tareqak | 1 comments | 05 Jul 25 00:24 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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ttul ◴[05 Jul 25 04:21 UTC] No.44470047[source]▶
Meanwhile, in Canada, not only can you expense R&D, but there is a cashable tax refund that will give you back about 60% of your developers’ salaries…
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anovikov ◴[05 Jul 25 06:04 UTC] No.44470416[source]▶
So it means that indirectly, developers' salaries are not a taxable income in Canada if they are working on R&D? Meaning, they do pay taxes on their income, but their employer gets those taxes back, so if tax is 60%, the employer could pay 250% of what they'd pay otherwise, get 150% back, then the developer pays 150% of taxes, and gets 100%, so in effect the salary is tax-free. Is that what you meant to say?

If so, it sounds almost too good to be true. Why aren't all startups in Canada?

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throwawaysleep ◴[05 Jul 25 06:10 UTC] No.44470455[source]▶
Canada's lack of startups is heavily cultural.

We adopt new products less. We are far more risk averse about purchasing goods or services from startups, far more risk averse about funding them (founders often give personal guarantees to get the investment), value the equity startups offer at far less, etc. Government is far more fussy about accountability with that refundable R&D money, so lots of time is spent filling out paperwork and hiring consultants to do it.

Here is a video that explains a lot about Canadian purchasing:

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.4596459

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1. tormeh ◴[05 Jul 25 08:46 UTC] No.44471166{3}[source]▶
I don’t think this is uniquely Canadian. And it’s usually semi-rational, if you really hate dealing with switching. Most cheaper subscription providers will give you a good deal at first, then jack up the prices when they’re bought by a major provider. New cheaper providers are founded, and the cycle continues. The cheaper prices last for two or three years, or similarly short. Most people would rather take the loss than having to pay attention to this stuff.