Throughout 2016, the Turnbull government has been following through on plans to boost innovation in Australia, as blueprinted in last December’s innovation statement. As we mentioned in a previous post, last month the government introduced new tax laws for start-ups and investors. Now, to further encourage innovation and growth among businesses, Australia plans to reform its loss tax rules. The Australian Treasury released a draft legislation seeking to amend the existing “same business test (SBT)” clause and to make it […]
Historically, the R&D tax incentive was formed with a key goal of making government investment for innovation more attainable to small businesses. Innovation, as a whole, impels small business to invest up front in their ideas. However, the aid of a refundable tax offset has helped to considerably alleviate the risk. In fact, the number of companies accessing R&D tax benefits from the Australian government has augmented to beyond 13,000 over the years. Over 7,000 small businesses currently apply for the program, however […]
Over the last twelve months there has been substantial activity in respect to the research and development (R&D) tax incentive with various announcements broadcasted by AusIndustry and the Australian Tax Office (ATO), as well as the release of the National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA). As a result, the discourse of business and government in Australia is rife with mentions to innovation, disruption and dexterity. Hence, the policy settings of government and our macroeconomic environment has seen a shift in […]
Undeniably, the research and development (R&D) tax incentive can result in very significant cash refunds for a business which can drive its future revenue growth. However, as the R&D Tax Incentive is a self-assessed claim, AusIndustry issues ‘Request for Further Information’ (RFIs) to ensure that all companies claiming the incentive remain accountable for their claims. Therefore, because of this “self-assessment” process, it is important that you understand the compliance requirements. Moreover, the ATO has recently stated that they are working […]