StartupAUS, Australia’s national startup advocacy group has today released its latest reports including a series of recommendations to enhance the local eco-system for fast-growing companies. Included among the recommendations are calls to allow the R&D Tax Incentive to be more easily applied to companies conducting software development activities. Some key quotes from the report are as follows: “Since its introduction in 2011 the RDTI has been a key reason for startups to employ Australians to undertake R&D, and a major […]
Speaking recently at the BESydney Global Ambassador Program annual gala dinner, Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar has called on the government to retain support for start-ups through initiatives such as the R&D Tax Incentive. Scott Farquhar emphasised that if governments were to ensure that Australians are creators of technology and not just consumers of inventions made elsewhere, then an appropriate environment must be in place to nurture start-ups and transitional businesses. Atlassian is listed on the NASDAQ and has been one […]
At a recent speech, shadow minister for Innovation and Technology Clare O’Neil has made some high-level comments with respect to the R&D Tax Incentive and Australia’s innovation policy. Key points from the speech included the following: Australia’s national spending on R&D is about 1.8% of GDP. World-leading countries are spending more than 4%, and the OECD average today is well above Australia’s at about 2.4%; 2016-17 was the first year R&D spending in Australia actually went backwards; Labor noted […]
Introduction A recent case heard in the AAT has affirmed a previous decision by Innovation and Science Australia (AusIndustry) finding that Activities registered under the R&D Tax Incentive were not in accordance with the legislative requirements. The case: H2O Exchange Pty Ltd and Innovation and Science Australia (Taxation) [2019] AATA 4195 from 14 October 2019 refers to a company that registered R&D activities for the FY14 and FY15 periods. Background The project registered related to the development of an online platform for the cross-border (inter-state) trading of water […]