The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation recentlyreleased an analysis of the presidential candidates' positionsregarding technology and innovation to see how they might approachthese issues as president.

“Ensuring that the United States is doing all it can to advanceinnovation will continue to be central in addressing key policychallenges,” ITIF wrote in the paper.

As technology touches more areas of our lives, leaders need toaddress the challenges related to security, economic growth andcontinued innovation.

“Some of these policies should involve public-privatepartnerships, which Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintonhas supported. Others should involve corporate tax and regulatoryreform, including ensuring the United States has a more globallycompetitive tax code, as Republican Donald Trump has advocated,”ITIF wrote.

ITIF used information found on the candidates' websites, policydocuments and comments made at public events to identify positionson technological innovation.

Although this year's election has generated more interest thanusual in third-party candidates, the paper focused only on the twomajor-party candidates, noting that, as of the September report'swriting, Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee JillStein were polling well below the minimum required to participatein the presidential debate.

ITIF is a nonpartisan organization and does not favor onecandidate over another. However, despite ITIF's neutral position,the report comes across as more favorable to Clinton because shehas made more comments on the issues the organization covers.

ITIF expressed some doubts over Trump's position, noting in thereport that he has largely been silent when it comes to technologyand innovation policy. And when he has spoken about the techindustry, his comments have sometimes been critical.

“We believe it is important to clearly document what the twocandidates have said (or not said) about these critical innovationissues, as their positions serve as the best available guide to thenext administration's policy priorities — and the lack of a statedposition may indicate which issues would be low priorities,” ITIFwrote in the report.

Looking at the candidates' general positionson innovation and technology, the report found Clinton hasindicated she would try to engage the government and privatecompanies as partners; would focus on achieving social and economicgoals through technology innovation; is supportive of “smarterregulation” of the technology industry; and supports immigrationfor highly skilled workers and STEM students.

However, the report found Clinton has opposed efforts to makeU.S. companies more competitive in the global market.

ITIF found the policy positions listed onTrump's campaign website didn't address technologyinnovation specifically. He has called for a significant reductionof business taxes and regulations, including corporate taxes, thereport found.

ITIF noted that Trump's position on immigration for highlyskilled workers is unclear, and that his support for stronghomeland security could weaken data encryption standards.

Internet and Digital Economy

ITIF wrote that the digital economy is a key driver of U.S.competitiveness and economic growth, and supports governmentpolicies that foster the adoption and use of informationtechnology.

“In general, policymakers should use a light touch to regulatelegitimate use of digital technology, and take a hard line onregulating illegitimate digital activity, such as cybercrime andonline piracy,” ITIF wrote in the report.

Clinton has said she would expand cybersecurity investment andencourage collaboration between the public and private sectors, andwould expand on the Cybersecurity National Action Plan announced byPresident Barack Obama in February.

On Sept. 8, the White House announced that, as part of the CNAP,it had appointed retired Brigadier General Gregory Touhill as thefirst federal chief information security officer.

The paper noted Trump has said the United States' cybersecuritypolicies are obsolete and called for stronger protections againsthackers.

Regarding encryption, Clinton has said she supports studying howto balance giving law enforcement access to encryptedcommunications and Americans' right to privacy, according to thepaper. ITIF didn't find any statements from Trump regardingencryption in general, but it pointed to his criticism of Apple fordenying the FBI's request for access to an iPhone owned by SyedFarook, one of the suspects involved in the San Bernardino shootinglast year.

Innovationand R&D

The federal government would have to spend an additional $65billion a year to reach the average ratio of R&D funding to GDPseen in the 1980s, the report found. Research funding, patentreform and technology transfer policies are important to supportinnovation, but ITIF found U.S. policies ranked 10th forcontributing to global innovation, and the country's R&D taxincentive is the world's 27th most generous.

Clinton supports increasing the federal budget for R&D,especially for high-performance computing, green energy and machinelearning, and has proposed to increase research budgets for theNational Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and theDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency, according to thereport.

Trump has indicated a desire to direct funding to currentchallenges like infrastructure, rather than future-orientedscientific research or missions, the paper noted.

Taxes and Budget

ITIF supports tax incentives that make American businesses morecompetitive internationally, by increasing investments in R&D,new capital equipment and more qualified workers.

“Unfortunately, America now has the highest combinedfederal-state statutory corporate tax rate among OECD countries, at39.2%. It is the only OECD country in which the statutory corporatetax rate did not decline between 2000 and 2012,” according to thereport.

Consequently, the candidates'tax policies could have a significant impact on innovationand technology.

Trump has said he would reduce the corporate tax rate to 15%,end deferral of taxes on foreign earnings, phase in a cap oninterest deductibility and repeal the corporate alternative minimumtax, according to the report.

Clinton has said she would maintain the 35% corporate tax rate,introduce an exit tax for companies moving their business to othercountries, create a two-year tax credit for employers that shareprofits with workers, and create a $1,500 credit for each newworker trained and hired by businesses, ITIF found.

Clinton has not offered a position on repatriation or taxes onforeign earnings. Trump would tax past foreign profits held in cashat 10%, and lower the tax rate on foreign earnings to 15%, as wellas eliminate the deferral.

Regarding the R&D tax credit, ITIF found Clinton wouldremove tax credits for companies that send jobs overseas. Trump'scampaign website notes he would eliminate most corporate taxexpenditures except the R&D credit.

Under Trump's plan, capital gains and dividends would be taxedat a maximum rate of 20%, while Clinton would tax capital gains asordinary income if held for less than two years. Assets held forbetween two and six years would be taxed at a lower rate; thoseheld for six years or more would be taxed at 23.8%, according tothe paper.

The Clinton plan also allows a 0% capital gains rate onlong-term investments in qualified small business stock held for atleast five years.