Comments must be received by August 16, 2021.
The Australian Government is consulting on a new tax policy to design the Australian patent box.
On May 11, 2021, the Government announced that it will introduce a patent box for eligible corporate income associated with new patents in the medical and biotechnology sectors. The patent box would apply to companies for income years commencing on or after July 1, 2022.
The objective of the discussion paper – issued on July 5 – is to inform the Government’s consideration of the detailed design of the patent box announced in the 2021‑22 Budget.
The discussion paper references the OECD/G20 Forum on Harmful Tax Practice’s framework governing intellectual property regimes, including the OECD’s base erosion and profit sharing (BEPS) Action 5 minimum standard.
Following consideration of responses to this discussion paper, the Government will issue and consult further on exposure draft legislation prior to introducing legislation into Parliament.
Through this discussion paper, the Government is also consulting on the potential expansion of the patent box approach to low emissions technologies and whether it is an effective way to support the development of those technologies.
Comments must be received by August 16, 2021.
The author is Alex Hunter, Editor, TP News. He oversees and updates the publication and also regularly writes news stories about transfer pricing and international tax law. Alex is reachable at editor@transferpricingnews.com