Last week, the Government introduced changes to the R&D Tax Incentive as part of an Omnibus Bill, following an announcement of the changes in May’s Federal Budget. It is uncertain whether the Bill will pass both the lower house of parliament and the Senate. The revisions are proposed to apply for the 2019 Financial Year. View the first reading of the bill here.
Introduction The case Moreton Resources Ltd and Innovation and Science Australia (Taxation) [2018] AATA 3378 refers to a mining company that registered R&D activities for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014. After an examination of the registrations, Innovation and Science Australia (ISA) determined that these activities were ineligible for the R&D Tax Incentive. The company had been subject to a number of adverse compliance reviews under the old R&D Concession, however they continued to claim. Background On 14 May 2015, […]
On 12 September 2018, Moreton Resources Ltd announced on the ASX that the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) recently affirmed a decision by Innovation and Science Australia (ISA) that registered R&D activities were not eligible. This was decided on the basis that underground coal gasification is a known and proven technology and is therefore not considered a research and development activity, as defined by the 1997 Income Tax Assessment Act. The AAT have issued an amended assessment for $9M. Moreton Resources […]
The Australian Government announced a reform of the R&D Tax Incentive program as part of the 2018-19 Federal Budget. Swanson Reed is of the view that stable and generous support for R&D must be maintained to give companies the confidence to invest in long-term innovation strategies. We have provided feedback in response to the draft legislation of amendments to the Research and Development Tax Incentive. To read our submission to the Treasury, please click the link below: Swanson Reed – […]