R&D tax credit stalled

While all eyes are on Congress to see whether they will resolve the credit crunch by bailing out banks and other financial institutions from their own greed, another money bill, the Research and Development Tax Credit moved one step closer to passage on Friday. However, the deal is not yet closed. In the latest news, the House of Representatives and Senate both passed a two-year extension to the Tax Credit that is fully offset, meaning it will be retroactive for 2008 and expire in December 2009. That is the good news. The bad news is the same extension was added to two separate bills, one in the Senate and one in the House, and neither body was compromising on how to budget for the credit -- and a conference committee cannot be used to resolve the differences.