On 24 March 2014 the Minister for Industry, Ian Macfarlane announced that effective from 31 March 2014 the R&D Tax Incentive Advisory Committee of Innovation Australia would be revoked, pursuant to subsection 22(1) of the Industry Research and Development Act 1986 (IR&D Act). The committee was part of the Industry portfolio and functioned in an advisory capacity. The committee’s primary responsibility was providing advice to the Innovation Australia Board regarding the operations of the R&D Tax concession program for income […]
As part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to restore simplicity and fairness to the Australian tax system, today, Treasurer Joe Hockey announced the re-tabling of many bills that were introduced by the previous parliament. Of the 92 unlegislated tax and superannuation changes, the Government will proceed with 18 initiatives, including a bill that will deny access to the R&D tax $20 billion turnover companies. The Government has announced that this measure alone will raise $1 billion in revenue. The Government intends […]
The Tax Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No. 4) Bill 2013 aimed to establish a new scheme for making refundable tax offsets available in quarterly installments. Under that proposed scheme, eligible small and medium companies would access installments on a quarterly basis in anticipation of claiming the 45 per cent research and development refundable tax offset at the end of the income year. It is the first of its kind in Australia. However, with a new Parliament comes a new plan […]
Australia is one of the world leaders in innovation and R&D, but our current tax system fails to reflect the challenges of a competitive global economy, especially as it relates to domestic biotechnology and manufacturing. Recently, the Abbott Government pledged to explore ‘patent box’ in Australia. The patent box Australia concept has already been adopted by many European countries and is currently before Congress in the U.S. These schemes provide reduced tax rates on income attributable to patented IP. The Patent Box will […]