ZAGREB, December 10, 2018 - Croatian companies plan to increase their research and development investments and allocations in the coming years, according to a survey conducted by Deloitte, a leading international agency specialised in audit, tax, legal, financial advisory, risk advisory, and consulting services.
The survey about Central Europe corporations' plans for R&D in the coming period shows that over two thirds of companies in the said region (67%) intend to increase expenditure on R&D in next three to five years.
As many as 80% of the Croatian companies covered by the survey have expressed that intention.
A majority of the companies in Central Europe covered by the survey have already increased their R&D investments in comparison to 2016.
The survey was conducted among 300 respondents in nine countries: Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The poll was carried out in Croatia among some 40 respondents, in cooperation with the Croatian Employers' Association and the Croatian Exporters association.
Asked about the biggest obstacle in the current system of state aid for research and development investments, 31% of those polled cite the identification of activities that can satisfy the requirements for being granted aid or tax relief.
As many as 76% believe that there are not enough available incentives for this purpose.
Also, 71% of those polled say they would prefer grants to tax breaks when it comes to their research and development investments.
Only 38% of Croatian companies are informed about non-repayable grants for R&D and are using them.
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