Caterpillar Disappointed at Illinois R&D Tax Credit Defeat

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), which is studying where to build a factory in North America, is disappointed with the Illinois legislature’s failure this week to pass a research and development tax credit.

“The failure in Springfield to pass that R&D tax credit and other provisions is a disappointment to us,” Jim Dugan, spokesman for the Peoria, Illinois-based company, said in an interview today. It’s an “example of what’s wrong in this state,” he said.

Caterpillar, the world’s largest construction and mining- equipment maker, is studying where to construct a factory for small tractors and mini-hydraulic excavators. The company has been courted by more than a dozen U.S. states, including Illinois, along with Canada and Mexico, about the factory, Dugan said.

“The tax credit is not tied to the decision-making process for the factory coming to North America,” said Dugan.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shruti Date Singh in Chicago at ssingh28@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Simon Casey at scasey4@bloomberg.net.