AusBiotech articulates support for tax reform

Building on the strategic plan that was presented at the AusBiotech national conference in November by AusBiotech Chair Dr Deborah Rathjen, the organisation is continuing its call for further tax reform in Australia.

AusBiotech advocates making tax incentives an asset for innovation and business, with four pillars:

• Retain the Research & Development (R&D) Tax Incentive, which is a top priority for the life sciences industry;
• Introduce the AIM Incentive, a ‘patent box’-style incentive to keep home-grown intellectual property (IP) once it reaches commercialisation, as well as associated manufacturing, in Australia;
• Introduce fiscal incentives for investors in pre-revenue and start-up companies; and
• Restore the employee share scheme (ESS) to its pre-2009 form.

The reform is deigned to provide incentives for innovative companies and high-tech manufacturing to support Australia’s future and keep us internationally competitive by attracting and retaining business, and the resulting jobs and exports.

Two AusBiotech position statements have been released, giving further details on the abovementioned AIM Incentive and efforts to restore the ESS. See www.ausbiotech.org for the position statements.

AusBiotech members’ views in relation to tax reform policy and other priority policy areas are currently being sought via the CEO Industry Position Survey 2014 and the forthcoming CEO/MD focus groups, which are to be held in April. Members are invited to contact AusBiotech for more information or view the position statements mentioned above.