Congress to negotiate R&D, Orphan tax credits

The fate of the R&D and Orphan Drug tax credits will be determined in negotiations between the House and Senate over a final version of tax reform legislation.

Changes to the Senate tax bill made hours before it passed on Dec. 1 include a decision to retain the corporate alternative minimum tax (AMT). Companies that are required to pay the 20% AMT are not eligible for additional credits, such as the R&D credit. The tax bill passed by the House scraps the corporate AMT. A number of research-intensive industries started lobbying congressional Republicans over the weekend to take steps to preserve the R&D tax credit...