News

Late last week the Morrison Government reintroduced the so-called 'intensity test' changes to the R&D tax incentive announced in the 2018 Federal Budget.  The 'intensity test' introduces a sliding R&D tax benefit premium tied to the level of R&D spend as a...

AAT decisions relating to R&D Tax Incentive applications often turn on the failings of the applicant’s research processes and supporting documentation.  Sometimes they involve questions of law that offer some precedent value for taxpayers and the IR&D Board...

The main benefit of political stability, and the portfolio stability that comes from it, is continuity of policy and program funding.  Tweaks to program and/or funding changes can be managed if there is a clear strategic vision over multiple electoral and Budget...

With the impending election and the release of the 2019-20 Budget by the current government on 2nd of April, it is worth taking a brief look at the past to understand how the national conversation has changed with regards to the R&D Tax Incentive- the primary...

This week AusIndustry released an updated guideline to claiming software development as an eligible core R&D activity under the R&D Tax Incentive. What can software developers do to ensure that their software development activities are more likely to pass as...

This week the Senate Economics Legislation Committee in a bipartisan decision deferred further consideration of the 'intensity test' changes to the R&D tax incentive announced in the 2018 Federal Budget.  This integrity measure will likely be considered only after...

Last night the ScoMo announced changes to the R&D Tax Incentive scheme, impacting the budget by delivering a $2.4B saving to the budget bottom line over 4 years. In 2016-17, the annual cost of the scheme reached nearly $3B. The changes are therefore projected to...

Still crazy after all these years At a budget dinner last night hosted by InnovationAus the room was asked whether the Government was doing enough to support 'innovation’.  Innovation is one of those terms of ubiquity Londoners might once have used to describe a pea...

R&D compliance AusIndustry and the ATO recently discussed R&D compliance concerns with the R&D advice community. There are two points worth noting: The Registration Application is not a form-filling exercise. The RA is designed to allow AusIndustry to...

The new $190m 'Jobs for NSW' fund unashamedly channels NSW Government  business grant support programs to start-up and established growth business with a high potential to grow employment. In other news, the Turnbull Government has introduced legislation as part of...

The States lift innovation spending, program tweaks to EMDG, and the ATO releases ESIC detail. State innovation grant programs The Turnbull Innovation agenda may not have attracted populist support at the ballot box but it is driving perhaps the largest blooming of...

Turnbull's innovation tax incentive package inches forward, how to access grants, and the AAT clarifies R&D. The Turnbull innovation Key elements of the Turnbull innovation package in Tax Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives for Innovation) Bill 2016 received Royal...