Australia

A corporate tax rate of 25% applies to certain small business corporate tax entities with an aggregated turnover of less than 50 million Australian dollars (AUD) for the 2021/22 and later income years, provided that the company does not derive substantial passive income. The corporate tax rate for all other corporate tax entities remains at 30%. See the Taxes on corporate income section.

Temporary economic stimulus measures introduced as part of the Federal Government’s economic response to COVID-19 and still applicable include:

• Supporting business capital investment through enhanced tax concessions, including for business with aggregated turnover of up to AUD 5 billion the choice to claim an immediate tax deduction for the cost of an eligible depreciating asset, among other measures. See the Deductions section for more information.
• New JobMaker Hiring Credit for eligible businesses that take on additional employees aged 35 years and under from 7 October 2020 until 6 October 2021. See the Tax credits and incentives section for more information.
• A temporary loss carryback measure for companies with an aggregated turnover of less than AUD 5 billion that have tax losses incurred in the 2019/20, 2020/21, and/or 2021/22 (proposed to be extended to 2022/23) income years for offset against taxed profits from the 2018/19 or later income years. See the Deductions section for more information.

For income years commencing on or after 1 July 2021, a more targeted research and development (R&D) incentive applies. See the Tax credits and incentives section for more information.

From an industry perspective, Australia’s offshore banking unit (OBU) concession is now scheduled to cease to operate in the 2023/24 and later income years. Furthermore, the Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive (JMEI), which enables eligible minerals exploration companies to generate tax credits for new shareholders based on their tax losses generated from greenfield mineral exploration expenditure, has been extended until 30 June 2025. See the Tax credits and incentives section for more information.

Under the superannuation guarantee (SG) scheme, which requires employers to contribute a certain percentage of an employee's earnings base, subject to limited exceptions, to a registered superannuation fund or retirement savings account on behalf of the employee, the required SG percentage has increased to 10% from 1 July 2021 and will remain so until 30 June 2022. See the Other Taxes section for more information.