This article is a follow up to our
New Incentives for R&D - Recent Changes to R&D Tax Concession article published in the August/September 2002 edition of
Australasian Biotechnology. In particular, this article focuses on the new R&D Tax Offset, which allows eligible companies to receive a cash rebate equivalent to the value of the R&D Tax Concession.
This is an initiative welcomed by small companies across most industry sectors, encouraging higher levels of expenditure on R&D. However, there are concerns that some companies in the biotechnology sector will fail to qualify for the Offset because they are spending too much on eligible R&D activities or have an ownership structure that is in breach of the requirements. This article discusses these issues in detail as well as providing suggestions as to how the Offset might be made of value to more biotechnology companies.