With its combination of state and federal taxes on income, land, and employment, Australia is a relatively high-tax economy for manufacturers and other industries. A competitive tax environment is just as important a driver of investment as competitive energy and labour.

Targeted tax incentives can help deliver the investment needed to meet the challenges of net zero, the circular economy, and setting Australia on a path to success.

Government should:

1. Establish an instant asset write-off with no caps or thresholds;
2. Change the tax treatment of grant funding incentives provided to domestic manufacturers to non-assessable, non-exempt income;
3. Continue to support for the R&D tax incentive to support the domestic R&D activities required to develop the chemistry, products, and materials for Australian consumers and industries;
4. Extend the “patent box” concept to all Australian R&D; and
5. Establish a lower tax rate for income derived from Australian R&D that is commercialised through manufacturing investment in Australia.