Historical assessment of tax exemptions for knowledge-based companies and technology units in Iran

One of the important tools of government in supporting the research and development activities of the enterprise is the use of tax incentives. Study of developed countries shows tax instruments are generally used in the form of expenditures and tax credit. The experience of implementing tax incentives in the law on supporting knowledge-based companies and institutions in Iran, shows the tax instrument has moved from the income approach to the expenditure approach. However, a suitable policy model for this policy transition has not been proposed so far. In order to implement requirements and effectiveness of this historical transition in the form of a policy model, this research carried out as a case study aiding from content analysis method to extract the axial categories. The data gathered through conducting semi-structured interviews consisted of 11 interviewees. Results shows -in terms of implementation- the categories of implementation simplification and policy sustainability are of great importance. In terms of effectiveness- the categories of high technology research and development risk coverage and encouraging new research and development should also be considered.