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A federal tax break on research and development costs due to expire Dec. 31 should be extended and expanded, say state executives and business groups.

Renée M. Winsky, CEO of the Tech Council of Maryland, urged business leaders to join the campaign in a recent e-mail. More than 400 business executives signed a letter to Congress supporting the extension and expansion, according to the Web site of the Research and Development Credit Coalition.

Among the Maryland signees are executives from biotechnology companies such as MedImmune, Human Genome Sciences and BioFactura, plus technology companies Aquilent and Convergence Technology Consulting. Satellite company Hughes Network Systems also signed.

The credit has been extended many times since it took effect in 1981, said Monica McGuire, executive secretary of the coalition and senior policy director for taxation with the National Association of Manufacturers. About 18,000 companies use the credit, which officials say has long been a driver of technological breakthroughs.

The coalition is asking that the alternative simplified credit rate be increased from 14 percent to 20 percent. Bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to extend and strengthen the credit.