A report published by The Sydney Morning Herald has detailed how Australia has fallen from 114 to 107 in 2017-18, according to an OECD index of R&D investment by government. The index, measured through purchasing power parity, is expected to drop again if/when a proposed 2019 budget cut to the R&D Tax Incentive of $1.3 billion comes into effect; The reports of decline come amidst: federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg calling upon business to increase their investment in Australia as a […]
Engineering contractor Monadelphous has released its FY19 annual report this week, and within recognised a $7 Million provision relating to repayment of R&D Claims for the FY15 and FY16 periods. The provision would indicate that the underlying disputed R&D Activities may have R&D Expenditure of around $70 to $80 Million. Monadelphous had previously reported to the ASX in May 2019 that the company had received notices of amended assessments from the ATO relating to findings by Innovation Australia that R&D Activities […]
In comments published in The Australian coinciding with the release of their FY19 financial report, Cochlear has called on the Australian government to adapt policies to ensure Australia remains competitive in attracting global investment in R&D Activity.  CEO Dig Howitt noted specifically that the R&D Tax Incentive must be subject to a stable policy platform to address Australia’s declining R&D Expenditure when quantified as a proportion of GDP.  Dig Howitt had previously mentioned at the AFR Innovation Summit that […]
Within comments posted by the AFR, Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox has called on the government to abandon proposed reforms to the R&D Tax Incentive, as well as provide increased investment in direct R&D Programmes. Innes Willox made specific reference to the ‘Intensity Threshold’ test within proposed R&D Reforms as a harmful measure. If introduced, the ‘Intensity Threshold’ would act to reduce the relative R&D Tax saving for companies spending a lower proportion of their total business expenditure on […]