Home » News » ‘Pick a policy and stick to it’: CSL’s CEO calls for stability on innovation incentives.

‘Pick a policy and stick to it’: CSL’s CEO calls for stability on innovation incentives.

February 16th, 2023

CSL is one of Australia’s greatest business and technical success stories and its shares have provided one of the best returns on the ASX among listed companies over the past decade.

CSL has also been a very strong advocate of the R&D Tax Incentive and lobbied for maintenance of a strong and stable incentive to encourage local investment in R&D.

In an article published in The Australian Financial Review, Paul Perreault, the CEO of CSL, says a bipartisan approach is needed to innovation policy, after it was revealed recently that The Labor Government plans to not legislate the medical and biotech patent box scheme which was proposed, but not passed into law by the former Coalition government.

The proposed policy would have seen profits from a medtech or biotech patent taxed at 17%, and was backed by CSL as well as other medical giants like hearing implant company Cochlear.

Perreault told The Australian Financial Review that consistent policy on innovation would be “the best thing for Australia”, and that there were many ways to encourage ground breaking medical research, but the key for Australian governments was to pick a policy and “stick to it”.

“I think what the government needs to do is continue to support innovation. If that’s in terms of tax credits, or if it’s in terms of other schemes… you need an innovation policy that is sustainable through every administration and every party.”

“I keep saying this, but I’m not sure they’re listening to me.”

CSL, a leader in the plasma and immunoglobin spaces, released its half year results this week and has delivered a US$1.6 billion profit.

The company invested more than 8% of its revenue into R&D in the first half of the 2022-23 year, with Perreault noting “our R&D pipeline is in great shape and we look forward to bringing more innovative therapies to patients in the future”.

However, he says, “if Australia wants to innovate, and they [the government] want people to understand what is coming out of Australia, and to actually do translational medicine from the innovation that stems from Australia, you need to have policies that support that and don’t go away”.

“You can do that through patent boxes, through incentives, rebates, tax credits – it doesn’t really matter. Just pick one and stick to it.”

CSL’s statements align with Swanson Reed’s previous submissions calling for stability on innovation and R&D Tax Policy.

On a positive note, at this stage, The new Labor Government does not appear to propose any changes to the R&D Tax Incentive, and hopefully none are forthcoming in the May 2023 Federal Budget.

Swanson Reed’s view is that if a patent box tax incentive were to be forgone by Australian companies in exchange for a stable R&D Tax Incentive, that would be a much better outcome for industry at this present time.

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   Daniel McGregor  
 11. August, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  I have been using Swanson Reed for my clients for more than a decade.  Having a specialist firm that can provide practical and commercial advice that produces real outcomes is very important and we have received great feedback from our clients. Highly recommended.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   John  
 15. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  Damian and the rest of the team at Swanson Reed have been supporting us for several years.  We always appreciate their insights, expertise, and efforts.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Rueben Rajasingam  
 6. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  Experienced responsive Team. They have been a great help to me and my company navigate the R&D tax claim process and have provided invaluable advice.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Enrique Esquivel  
 6. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  Damian and the team at Swanson Reed have been extremely helpfully and professional during all of our consultations. Highly recommended.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Jess at Y&C  
 3. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Anatole Kononewsky  
 2. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  The Swanson Reed team have provided our company with exceptional professional advice and assistance for all of our R&D claims for many years - have always achieved great results with excellent value for their services.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Payam Toloo  
 2. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  Damian Smyth and his team are very helpful, supportive and experts in their field of R&D Tax claims. I'm always happy with the work they do and been a customer of their for over 5 years.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Melissa Doddy  
 31. May, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  The Team at Swanson Reed are very experienced R&D Tax Advisors and gave us ongoing support with all of our R&D Claims, the consultants ensured we were always working with current legislative guidelines, gave us assistance with compiling technical and government documentation and went out their way to ensure they were with us for the entire process from beginning to end.  Highly recommended to anyone who needs assistance with working through what can at times be a daunting process.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Gary Watson  
 31. May, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  We can highly recommend Swanson and Reed as an R & D accountant. We have worked with them for several years now as they make our R & D claim so easy and communicate quickly with both us and our accountant.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Rob van den Bergh  
 31. May, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  Always professional.
  
 
 
  
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         Posted on Google  
   
   Daniel McGregor  
 11. August, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  I have been using Swanson Reed for my clients for more than a decade.  Having a specialist firm that can provide practical and commercial advice that produces real outcomes is very important and we have received great feedback from our clients. Highly recommended.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   John  
 15. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  Damian and the rest of the team at Swanson Reed have been supporting us for several years.  We always appreciate their insights, expertise, and efforts.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Rueben Rajasingam  
 6. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  Experienced responsive Team. They have been a great help to me and my company navigate the R&D tax claim process and have provided invaluable advice.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Enrique Esquivel  
 6. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  Damian and the team at Swanson Reed have been extremely helpfully and professional during all of our consultations. Highly recommended.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Jess at Y&C  
 3. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Anatole Kononewsky  
 2. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  The Swanson Reed team have provided our company with exceptional professional advice and assistance for all of our R&D claims for many years - have always achieved great results with excellent value for their services.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Payam Toloo  
 2. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  Damian Smyth and his team are very helpful, supportive and experts in their field of R&D Tax claims. I'm always happy with the work they do and been a customer of their for over 5 years.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Melissa Doddy  
 31. May, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  The Team at Swanson Reed are very experienced R&D Tax Advisors and gave us ongoing support with all of our R&D Claims, the consultants ensured we were always working with current legislative guidelines, gave us assistance with compiling technical and government documentation and went out their way to ensure they were with us for the entire process from beginning to end.  Highly recommended to anyone who needs assistance with working through what can at times be a daunting process.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Gary Watson  
 31. May, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  We can highly recommend Swanson and Reed as an R & D accountant. We have worked with them for several years now as they make our R & D claim so easy and communicate quickly with both us and our accountant.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Rob van den Bergh  
 31. May, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  Always professional.
  
 
 
  
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‘Pick a policy and stick to it’: CSL’s CEO calls for stability on innovation incentives.

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‘Pick a policy and stick to it’: CSL’s CEO calls for stability on innovation incentives.

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