The impact of France's research tax credit

The Research Tax Credit (Crédit d’Impôt Recherche: CIR) has been heavily criticised and is seen by some people to be an overly generous gift to companies. This credit, to which has been added an Innovation Tax Credit for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), encourages small companies to invest in innovation, and large companies to invest in France. What do we know about its economic impact, and whom does it benefit? Franck Debauge‚ associate director of the ACIES Consulting Group‚ has been in charge of the ‘Observatoire du CIR’ since 2012. This body publishes a yearly, synoptic report which is based entirely on the analysis of official data, and aims to consolidate and review the data from the CIR in order to gauge its impact on the economy and dispel stereotypes.