[robzyb]

Fellow Australian here (albeit currently living in Tokyo).

The "We create tax refunds" part of your homepage says that a company can get a tax refund even if there is no sales.

Does this mean that if I establish a company tomorrow, invest $100k of capital, and spent $100k of capital on R&D, then the ATO will give my company $45k?

[Innercode]

The R&D Tax Incentive was designed to give a cash benefit for startups who have little tax to pay. So your example is correct for a pre revenue entity, assuming no outstanding tax liabilities. Its an entitlement scheme, so as long as your doing R&D, have a company and spending your money through the company, you will get the benefit of the scheme.

It is one area that Australia has a significant advantage over the US for startups.

[ps4fanboy]

Yes, you have to spend the money though so youll still be down 55K, it doesnt count to things like capital purchases.

[gordjw]

Depends who owns the company you spend the $100k with.

They'd need to pay 30% tax on their income, leaving a net outlay by the government of $15k (15%) overall.

[robzyb]

Their income would be less than the $100k. They would have incurred expenses when they provided the services.

I paid $100k, the provider took the $100k and spent $60k. This means they declare $40k income.

The company pays $12k tax.

The Goverment gives $55k to my hypothetical company.