Tax Insights

Treasurer Jim Chalmers made the scope clear in his second reading speech on 28 May 2026. "These changes will apply to all CGT assets, including pre-1985 CGT assets," he said.

For trustees, the biggest uncertainty in Australia’s proposed trust tax may not be the 30% rate. It may be the rules that are still missing. Draft legislation released in September sketches the new minimum-tax regime, but several decisions about who falls inside it could …

A subcontractor can look independent on paper and still fall squarely inside payroll tax rules. That is the lesson from a NSW tribunal dispute involving security and cleaning services at Sydney Airport. The businesses had their own operations, insurance and records, yet the tribunal …

For a loss-making biotech, a tax offset on paper is not the same as cash in the bank. That distinction sits at the centre of Treasury’s proposed R&D Tax Incentive overhaul. Most companies would lose refundability after their tenth year, but eligible businesses researching …

A research budget can exceed $50,000 and still fail a proposed $50,000 R&D threshold. That apparent contradiction is one of the sharpest effects of Treasury’s draft reforms. The reason is that supporting activities would stop qualifying, leaving only eligible core experimental work in the …

The permanent $20,000 instant asset write-off attracts attention because it can turn an equipment purchase into an immediate deduction. Yet two quieter rules can be just as useful. A low small-business depreciation pool may be cleared in one deduction, while businesses that previously left …

Payday Super’s seven-business-day payment rule is only half the payroll challenge. A second deadline is approaching inside Single Touch Payroll. Employers have a transition period to move from old ordinary-time-earnings reporting to qualifying earnings, but that flexibility ends on 1 July 2027. After that …