The Commish on “Risk and Uncertainty”

One attribute of our tax system that adds uncertainty is its impermanence.  Short term provisions, that sunset but are then often extended, have an unsettling effect on both clarity and stability.

In 2010, the Joint Committee on Taxation identified more than 130 tax provisions that were set to expire at the end of 2010, with approximately another 70 to sunset at the end of 2011. And 40 more tax provisions are set to expire at the end of 2012. This year, we actually had a tax provision that was set to expire in two months.

 A perfect example of uncertainty for business taxpayers caused by expiring provisions is the Research and Experimentation tax credit. Its purpose is to foster innovation and technological development while spurring economic growth and competitiveness.

However, for the past 30 years, it has been extended 14 times, many of those retroactively, for periods ranging from six months to five years. Such persistent uncertainty about the future availability of the R&E credit diminishes its incentive effect as taxpayers often do not know if they can depend on the credit when making decisions on future investments in research and development.

~ IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, February 15, 2012