We advocate a regular evaluation of the innovation support in our country considering the increasing importance and the budgetary costs.

Criteria that should not be overlooked include simplicity, transparency, predictability and low administrative burden. The current measures often fall short in terms of usability. Especially the measures in terms of the (partial) exemption from withholding tax for R&D personnel from List 1 (Doctor of exact or applied sciences, doctor of medicine or civil engineer) appear to have a clear effect. Additional means could be prioritized towards this type of measures.

There is a clear need for coordination between the regions and the federal government over the whole of the granted government aid.

A choice between the tax credit and the increased investment deduction seems to be obtrusive. It may be useful to no longer limit the measure to R&D investments with an environmentally-friendly character (but for instance only for the purchase of patents and investments for R&D).

As a conclusion we should focus resources on what works best, but also move on to higher amounts to generate a more significant impact.

Finally, it is imperative that attention be paid to possible interactions between tax incentives and other policies to promote R&D and innovation.