A feature article by Swanson Reed is included in the August 2021 volume of The Tax Institute’s Taxation in Australia. Swanson Reed’s article covers the legislative passage of the recent changes to the R&D tax law, along with a technical analysis of the amendments. Taxation in Australia is continually ranked as Australia’s leading tax journal and is published 11 times per year, available exclusively to members of the Tax Institute. Take our online eligibility test to check whether your […]
InnovationAus this week has reported on concerns raised by advocacy group Fintech Australia in respect of the application of the R&D Tax Incentive to software activity. The concerns were raised in the group’s submission to the Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre, and a summary of points raised include: concern that regulators’ interpretations of “activities” and “experiments” under the scheme are restrictive to software claims and lead to many tech firms not accessing the incentive; concern that […]
In the May federal budget, the Australian Government announced that it will introduce a patent box for eligible income associated with new patents in the medical and biotechnology sectors. The patent box will apply to companies for income years commencing on or after 1 July 2022, and for new Australian patents since budget night. The aim of such a policy is to encourage companies to base their medical and biotechnology R&D activity in Australia and to retain associated patent […]
Australia’s R&D tax incentive program is dually administered by two government agencies: AusIndustry (on behalf of Industry Innovation and Science Australia): registers R&D activities disclosed in applications lodged with the agency. AusIndustry has authority to make findings on eligibility of activities. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO): administers R&D tax offset entitlements disclosed in company income tax returns lodged with the agency. The ATO reviews compliance matters such as substantiation of expenditure and structural tax issues such as on whose behalf […]