Economic Thought and Practice, , 2025.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.17818/EMIP/2025/32
THE EFFECTS OF TAX RELIEFS ON THE R&D ACTIVITY IN SLOVENIA
Suzana Laporšek
orcid.org/0000-0002-7787-8749
; University of Primorska
*
Igor Stubelj
orcid.org/0000-0001-7174-5315
; University of Primorska
Matija Vodopivec
orcid.org/0000-0002-5663-696X
; OECD
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The paper investigates the effect of tax incentives on R&D expenditure in Slovenian firms, differentiating the impact by firm size and age. As there is a lack of empirical research on the effectiveness of these reliefs in Slovenia, and the research uses administrative firm-level data and an innovative approach, this study makes an important contribution to the literature. The effectiveness of the R&D tax incentives is based on the direct approach. The effect is identified by applying a quasi-experimental approach and the use of the difference-in-differences method. To rule out the effect of concurrent factors that could influence the level of R&D expenditure at the firm level, the paper uses the variation in regional tax relief rates. The paper finds that a one percentage point increase in the R&D tax relief was associated with a 0.571 percentage point increase in firms' R&D expenditure. The impact was larger for smaller and younger firms.
Keywords
R&D; tax reliefs; tax incentives; policy evaluation; Slovenia
Hrčak ID:
333187
URI
Publication date:
4.7.2025.
Visits: 308 *