A report from the nonpartisan Taxpayers for Common Sense, dated 2014, says the IDC carve-out is more than just a typical expense for businesses.

“In fact IDC deduction is not the same, or designed with the same purpose, as the [research and experimental] deduction available to other industries,” it says. “At this point in the technological development of the industry, the IDC deduction only serves to subsidize the business generally by allowing certain taxpayers to avoid the capitalization rules applying to other taxpayers.”