Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev in the US (Section 174)

Re:Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev ... by rtpg on Monday June 09, 2025 @08:24PM (#44231166)

I don't get this. You speculative spend 1 million dollars on a new thing. It fails. In one universe you get to deduct 1M from your profit in year 1. In another you get to deduct 1M from your profit, but over 5 years.

I understand the pain for small companies and it's a strain on cash flow, but for larger companies with "real" revenue streams and profitability is this that much worse?

The cynical thing might be that this helps out big corps by preventing smaller corps from spending their way to success.

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Re:Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev ... by jonfw on Tuesday June 10, 2025 @08:03AM (#44235743)

It increases the real cost of engineers. The government is keeping that money interest free, which means the company is losing the time value of money.

In addition, it gives companies less flexibility to manipulate their tax burden and cash flow, which makes engineering a less appealing investment to the bean counter.

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Re:Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev ... by kfajdsl on Tuesday June 10, 2025 @10:34AM (#44237298)

Yes, this hurts smaller companies with less capital/cash flow more than larger companies.

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