Polish businesses pouring more money into R&D - entrepreneurship min
Central Statistical Office (GUS) data on research and development (R&D) spending in 2017, released on Tuesday, show that more Polish entrepreneurs are increasing spending on R&D activities, Entrepreneurship and Technology Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz told PAP.
"Encouraging is the fact that the number of entities in R&D activity increased by almost 5 percent, while the number of R&D personnel grew by almost 12 percent," said Minister Emilewicz.
In her opinion, the GUS data "is a testament to the positive changes taking place in Polish enterprise, for which innovation is becoming an increasingly important factor for the improvement of its competitiveness on the global market. Entrepreneurs are increasingly becoming aware of the need and the benefits of investing in R & D (…)," Emilewicz pointed out when commenting on the stats data.
"Deserving special attention here are the many changes concerning tax breaks for taxpayers incurring expenditures on R&D. In 2017, there was a threefold increase in the amount of deductions taken and a more than twofold growth in the number of taxpayers allowed tax breaks, as well as access to R&D funds as part of the Intelligent Development Operational Programme. An increase in expenditures on R&D activity is an opportunity for the effective utilisation of economic resources and market opportunities facing the enterprises," said Emilewicz.
On Tuesday, GUS published its latest data on R&D in Poland. In 2017, gross domestic spending on R&D amounted to PLN 20.6 billion (EUR 4.8 bln) and increased by 14.7 percent, compared to the previous year.
The highest amount of internal expenditures on R&D was attributed to the enterprise sector, which allocated PLN 13.3 billion (EUR 3.1 bln) for R&D activities, i.e. more than 12 percent more than in the previous year (which accounted for 64.5 percent of internal expenditures on R&D), announced the Central Statistical Office (GUS).
