I think this is the killer point. Quebec suffers from a similar problem, with the result being a disproportionate amount of time is spent working out how to cla

I think this is the killer point. Quebec suffers from a similar problem, with the result being a disproportionate amount of time is spent working out how to claim the credits, and less focus on the actual work at hand. This overhead also means subsidiaries of foreign companies get the bulk of the credits too, with very little going to start ups in practice. It would be easier and better all round to have lower bureaucracy and business tax, and scrap the R&D credits, which would allow the market to actually function, but cynically I came to believe the whole scheme exists just to employ a load of accountants and government bureaucrats, not to actually achieve anything.