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March, 2021

Federal Court Appeal Finds in Favour of ATO for Recovery of R&D Offset

March 29th, 2021

On 19 March 2021, a decision in the appeal of The Federal Court case of Commissioner of Taxation v Auctus Resources Pty Ltd [2021] FCAFC 39 was handed down. In the preceding case, Auctus Resources Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2020] FCA 1096, The Federal Court found that the ATO was not able to use s.8AAZN of the Tax Administration Act 1953 (a provision related to Overpayments made by the Commissioner under taxation laws)  to recover a tax refund relating to an R&D tax offset refund in […]

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The Australian National Audit Office to Review Administration of R&D Tax Incentive

March 22nd, 2021

InnovationAus has reported that The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) is conducting an audit into the effectiveness of the Industry department and Australian Taxation Office’s administration of the research and development tax incentive (RDTI) program and is expected to table its report in October. Submissions are able to be made by stakeholders until May 2021. The audit criteria per the ANAO’s website states that “The ANAO proposes to examine: Are assessment, compliance and assurance arrangements effective? Are performance measurement and monitoring arrangements […]

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AFR Reports Top Tech Companies Approach ATO Seeking a Meeting to Discuss Eligibility of Software R&D Activity

March 15th, 2021

The AFR has reported this week that leading technology companies (including Atlassian, Airtasker, Canva and Deputy, among others) have sent a letter to commissioner of taxation, Chris Jordan. The letter reportedly includes an offer to convene a workshop with the ATO to “improve the understanding of software innovation in the tax office and, conversely, address any concerns the ATO has about software related claims”. This letter follows concerns around the eligibility of software development Activity under the R&D Tax Incentive […]

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ATO and AusIndustry Joint Podcast on R&D Tax Incentive

March 1st, 2021

AusIndustry and the ATO have published a joint podcast on business.gov.au this week, featuring Brett Challans (ATO) and Kelly Wiggins (DISER). The podcast discusses key R&D Tax Incentive issues relevant to each department, including: Eligible entities; The self-assessment process; Categories of ineligible expenditure; Records relevant to substantiating the R&D process through systematic progression of work i.e. from hypothesis to conclusions. E.g. emails, project plans, annual reports, lab notebooks and meeting minutes; Records relevant to substantiating expenditure including invoices, contractors and […]

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