A surprising announcement was made by The Government in the FY25 MYEFO released in late December 2024, which took the unprecedented step of announcing an eligibility restriction to be applied to specific sectors. The MYEFO budget papers noted: The Government will exclude activities related to gambling and tobacco from Research and Development Tax Incentive eligibility for income years starting on or after 1 July 2025. Research and development activities related to gambling can exacerbate addiction and associated harms, while activities related […]
Following the US election in 2024, a new Government will be installed in the US during January 2025. The impact of the new Trump Government on US R&D and tax policy is not immediately clear, and it may impact some industries differently to others. Possible impacts may include: there will be a clear push to favor US based manufacturing via tax and tariff measures; media commentary notes that the incoming US president is expected to reduce support for research on the environment […]
A federal court case with judgement dated 16 December 2024 (with The Commissioner of Taxation as the Applicant and a number of parties as Respondents) has declared that respondents were promoters of tax exploitation schemes to secure R&D tax offsets pursuant to Division 355 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) for a number of companies. Very large penalties have been levied in the case and the liquidations of two entities listed as respondents were noted in the judgement as being on hold pending the outcome of […]
An AAT decision handed down in December 2023 (Active Sports Management Pty Ltd and Industry Innovation and Science Australia) previously found that activities in respect of development of a customised basketball shoe were not eligible under the R&D Tax Incentive. It was found in the AAT case that, “none of the Claimed Activities were core R&D activities within the meaning of subsection 355-25(1) of the ITAA 1997..” ACTIVE SPORTS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD applied to the federal court to appeal the decision and the Federal […]