Research and Development Tax Incentive (RDTI) Five-Year Evaluation

The Research and Development Tax Incentive (RDTI) was introduced on 1 April 2019 to encourage business innovation, by offering a 15% tax credit on eligible research and development (R&D) expenditure. It replaced the R&D Growth Grants scheme, which closed to new applicants in 2019 and was phased out in 2021. The legislation introducing the RDTI specifies that an objective and independent evaluation of the scheme must be laid before the House of Representatives every five years. Motu Research was engaged by MBIE to lead the first five-year evaluation. Motu Research worked with the University of Otago, who contributed qualitative and subject-specific expertise to the evaluation. Our team was asked to address five questions focusing on the impact of the RDTI (and of other types of government R&D support to businesses), as well as the RDTI’s compliance costs, administrative processes and legal requirements. We were also asked to consider a sixth question — how certain conclusions from our evaluation would be affected by changes to three specific policy settings. We addressed these questions using a mixed methods approach, combining quantitative analysis of survey and administrative data with qualitative insights from interviews with key stakeholders. The quantitative approach relied primarily on statistical analysis of data from Statistics New Zealand’s Longitudinal Business Database, with our descriptive analysis also drawing on other administrative data sources. The qualitative analysis used data from 67 semi-structured interviews we conducted with 84 participants. This includes 41 interviews with firms, 10 with RDTI operational team members, 5 with policy experts and 11 with professional tax advisors. Our quantitative analysis found firms supported by the RDTI spent more on R&D than they would have in the absence of RDTI support. The difference was stronger for smaller firms. Annual R&D expenditure was on average $274,000 higher per firm because of RDTI support. The total additional R&D expenditure generated by the RDTI was $1.83 billion. For every $1 of government spend, firms invested $1.40 in additional R&D, which is similar to OECD benchmarks. The additional R&D stimulated by the RDTI was estimated to generate an impact on New Zealand’s GDP of $6.77 billion (mid-point of a range estimate), which suggests an overall economic impact of 4.2 times government investment. Our qualitative analysis suggested significant RDTI compliance costs were more than offset by the ability to access greater levels of R&D support. Most firms indicated the RDTI had a positive impact on their R&D activities and business outcomes. Several firms with international operations explained the RDTI is influential in attracting and retaining R&D work in Aotearoa New Zealand. There was also a strong indication that businesses prefer policy stability, with the implication that instability leads to lower R&D expenditure and lower uptake.