TAX incentives now provide 60% of government support for business R&D across the OECD, more than double their 28% share in 2004, according to the newly updated OECD R&D Tax Incentives Database. R&D tax relief reached 0.16% of GDP in 2024, up from 0.05% in 2004, while direct funding for business R&D remained at 0.10%.  

The OECD R&D Tax Incentives Database covers 56 countries including several major Asian economies for the first time. It captures the fiscal cost of these incentives; combined with estimates of direct government funding, they provide a more comprehensive measure of total government support for business R&D, excluding harder-to-quantify loans and other indirect forms of support.