August 2018
On behalf of the members, BioMelbourne Network has made a submission to Treasury regarding the proposed changes to the R&D Tax Incentive.
In terms of our overall consideration of the proposed changes to the R&D Tax Incentive, it is our view that the changes:
- increase the complexity and introduce significant uncertainty into the program
- have not undergone sufficient consultation to determine the impact on innovation intensive companies, such as those in the health industry
- recognise the importance of clinical trials to Australia, but do not provide a fit-for-purpose definition of clinical trials
- require greater clarity and understanding of the means of identifying clinical trials expenditure
- have not been sufficiently modelled to examine the unintended consequences of fixing the offset at 13.5% above the company’s tax rate
- create risk around increased burden of compliance and increased red-tape for companies that will create timing delays and deter R&D investment decisions
- will be detrimental to Australia’s ability to remain globally competitive in innovation-intensive industries, such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical technology.
Thank you to all of our members who have provided data, feedback and consultation on this issue – and thank you to those companies who have shown leadership in advocating on behalf of the sector on these changes. Your voice is important and your support makes a difference!
The full BioMelbourne Network submission is available here.
