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 […]
The Government has recently introduced and augmented stimulus measures to encourage investment and allow eligible businesses to claim an immediate deduction for the cost of an asset in the year the asset is first installed ready for use. This asset investment stimulus has taken the form of 2 programmes: Instant asset write-off provided for under section 328-180 of the INCOME TAX (TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS) ACT 1997: applies for assets a R&D entity first acquires/installs up until 31 December 2020; applies to […]
As had been anticipated, the ATO will be requiring adjustments to R&D claims that contain salaries reimbursed by the JobKeeper Scheme. Companies lodging FY20 R&D claims who have also received the JobKeeper stimulus must carefully review and adjust R&D claims where necessary. The basis of this need for adjustment is the ATO’s position that companies are not deemed to incur salary expenditure at their own financial risk where such costs are being reimbursed by the Job Keeper Scheme. Draft Taxation […]
Argent Minerals Limited has previously disclosed a liability in the company’s 2019 annual report for “R&D Claims repayable” of approximately $1.4M. This liability was in respect of R&D Tax Offsets for the FY16 and FY17 periods that AusIndustry had found relate to ineligible activities. Argent Minerals Limited had also reported that the company remained of the view that its R&D activities were eligible, and intended to pursue dispute of the adverse finding. The company has announced to the ASX over the past week […]