The chef doesn't create a meal once that you can sell for the next 10 years though. You pay him for time X, he makes a meal, you sell that meal.
That's fundamentally different from regular software development outside of agencies where there is no direct relationship. Software development is closer to an investment than an expense.
Amortization sucks in general, yes, because the money is gone and it doesn't affect your taxes to the same amount, but that's not different for any company doing manufacturing or anyone needing specialized tools or vehicles that cost significant amounts.
I think there is an argument that both could be valid. I wonder why we cant let the company decide to pick one over another and not be so fixated on one tax code to rule them all.
That is production, not R&D. Basic research into, for instance, semiconductors may one day lead to the production of a new product. The R&D costs would be amortized, the eventual production costs would not.
That's fundamentally different from regular software development outside of agencies where there is no direct relationship. Software development is closer to an investment than an expense.
Amortization sucks in general, yes, because the money is gone and it doesn't affect your taxes to the same amount, but that's not different for any company doing manufacturing or anyone needing specialized tools or vehicles that cost significant amounts.