June, 2026

New Federal court matter (May 2026) finds the occurrence of R&D Tax evasion schemes

June 5th, 2026

A federal court case, with a judgement dated 28 May 2026 has declared that a respondent contravened s 290-50(1) of the TAA regarding several taxpayer schemes involving the R&D Tax Incentive. The R&D Tax Incentive has been a focus of the TPB and ATO in recent years, with several published matters involving the promotion and misuse of the incentive to make aggressive or invalid claims. Substantial penalties can be imposed and should significantly deter advisors and companies seeking to misuse the benefits available […]

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Media reports of an alleged ‘false mining operation’ involving large claims for GST and R&D Tax Offset reviews

June 4th, 2025

One of the major national newspapers has this week posted an article about a private group alleged to have operated a ‘false mining operation’ that led to the generation of substantial refunds for GST and Refundable R&D Tax Offset credits. Swanson Reed does not know specifics of this case other than what has been reported in the media and in the Federal Court’s published freezing and ancillary orders. The Federal Court order notes: “The Companies collectively claimed and received GST refunds and R&D offsets totalling […]

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Federal court matter (December 2024) declares that respondent was a promoter of a tax exploitation scheme to secure R&D Tax Offset.

December 16th, 2024

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 […]

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New Federal Court Decision re: Active Sports Management Pty Ltd finds R&D Activities not eligible

December 2nd, 2024

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 […]

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