Business groups urged Congress to renew the research-and-development tax credit during its lame-duck session.

That credit, which rewards companies for spending money on R&D in the United States, expired nearly a year ago. Lack of the credit has put nearly 100,000 high-tech jobs at risk, according to TechAmerica, a high-tech trade association. It's hard to tell how many jobs actually have been lost due to the credit's expiration, because U.S. companies have grown accustomed to Congress letting the tax credit end and then retroactively renewing it.

This year, however, uncertainty over the tax credit's fate is greater than usual. President Barack Obama has called for making the R&D tax credit permanent, but he paired that proposal with a plan to raise taxes on U.S. companies' overseas profits. TechAmerica would "be very troubled" by any R&D tax credit bill that included provisions on income earned abroad, said Phil Bond, the organization's president and CEO.

Such tax increases would make U.S.-based companies less competitive with their global counterparts, business groups contend. This would run counter to the goal of the R&D tax credit, which is to encourage U.S. companies to invest in R&D that creates cutting-edge products and improves productivity. Other countries offer more generous incentives for R&D.

Renewing and strengthening the R&D tax credit "should be a no-brainer," said Charlie Greenwald, vice president at TechAmerica.

"This Congress still has a chance to help America to hone its edge in the global innovation economy," he said.

The R&D tax credit, however, could get caught up in the debate over whether to renew the income tax cuts enacted during President George W. Bush's administration. TechAmerica supports at least a temporary extension of these tax cuts, because it contends raising taxes when the economy is weak isn't good for any industry. But if there's not an agreement on income tax rates, "at least move on the R&D tax credit," Bond said.

The R&D tax credit is one of 130 tax provisions that have expired or are about to expire and need to be renewed, according to a letter signed by 1,300 businesses and organizations.

For more information, see www.techamerica.org

Federal contracting officials: Insourcing hurts small business

More than half of federal procurement officials say the Obama administration's push to bring more contracted work in-house will have a negative impact on small businesses.

That's according to a survey conducted by the Professional Services Council and Grant Thornton.

Another 38 percent thought insourcing might hurt the government's ability to reach its small-business contracting goals. Only 6 percent said it wouldn't hurt small businesses.

Congress has directed the federal government to award at least 23 percent of its contracting dollars to small businesses, but that goal is rarely met.

The Obama administration wants federal employees to perform work that is inherently governmental in nature, instead of allowing agencies to contract out these services. Since small-business contractors primarily provide services to the government - not weapons systems or other products - they are especially vulnerable to insourcing initiatives.

Many of the procurement officials surveyed support the concept of insourcing, agreeing the government work force needs to retain core capabilities. But many are concerned that insourcing is moving too quickly, according to the survey.

For more information, see www.pscouncil.org

SBA expands business training for veterans; includes women

The Small Business Administration launched two new programs to help veterans and expanded an existing business training program for disabled veterans.

The SBA will provide three days of training and ongoing networking and mentorship opportunities to 1,400 women veterans over the next three years. It also will provide online business training to family members and business partners of small-business owners who are called to active duty in National Guard and Reserve units, or are injured or killed while deployed.

The agency also is partnering with Syracuse University's Entrepreneurship Boot Camp for Veterans with Disabilities to expand the program to Louisiana State University, the seventh college to host the program.

The SBA last year signed a three-year cooperative agreement that provided $450,000 to support the program at six universities.

The program has provided business training to 320 disabled veterans so far. John Raftery, owner of Patriot Contractors in Red Oak, Texas, is one of the program's success stories. The ex-Marine now is working on $4 million worth of construction contracts in nine states, primarily at military bases.

Raftery said the training provided by the program gave him "a big bag of tools" to use in building his own business. Plus, being in the company of "like-minded veterans ... was something that was very healing for me."

Nearly one-fourth of veterans are interested in starting or buying their own businesses, according to the SBA. That's not a surprise, Mills said, "when you consider the leadership and management skills our veterans develop while on active and reserve duty."

For more information, see www.sba.gov

Rural firms pay more or get worse service for broadband

Any way you look at it, rural small businesses lose when it comes to broadband Internet service.

They either pay more for the same level of Internet service that small businesses in metropolitan areas receive, or receive less service for the same amount of money, according to a study conducted by the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy.

The study also found that small businesses are charged two to three times more than residential Internet customers for equivalent speeds, based on a price study conducted in Minnesota and Tennessee.

The economic stimulus bill included $7 billion to expand broadband access in rural areas.

For more information, see www.sba.gov/advo

Kent Hoover: khoover@bizjournals.com