Chipmakers offered 25% investment tax credit in new Senate bill

A 25% tax credit is the latest carrot being proposed on Capitol Hill to encourage semiconductor companies to bolster U.S. production.

Under a bipartisan bill introduced Thursday, chipmakers would receive a tax credit for investments in manufacturing equipment and facilities. The proposal from Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden and Ranking Member Mike Crapo also includes incentives for chipmaking and the construction of special tools used in manufacturing.

The bill is the latest attempt in Washington to bolster domestic chip supplies in response to a global shortage that has disrupted production of automobiles and consumer electronics. The Senate approved $52 billion in funding for the semiconductor industry earlier this month in a broad bill aimed at increasing competition with China. The House is working on its own plan.

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An employee places a component onto a printed circuit board containing integrated circuit microchips at CSI Electronic Manufacturing Services Ltd. in Witham, U.K.
Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

“This new legislation will take an additional step in helping American manufacturers make semiconductor chips here at home so this shortage won’t happen again,” Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow, a co-sponsor of the bill, said in a statement.

Bloomberg News
Tax credits Finance, investment and tax-related legislation Technology Manufacturing industry Ron Wyden
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