The Australian Federal Budget for 2026-27 will be handed down in May 2026, the first budget since Labor's re-election in 2025.
Today’s business leaders navigating Australia’s M&A landscape need to look beyond short‑term performance and financial metrics alone. What matters most to investors is a strong, scalable and defensible business, particularly in an environment shaped by geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Increasingly, ESG and sustainability considerations are not add‑ons, but core to business strategy and long‑term value creation.
The Full Federal Court confirms that owner and beneficiary benefits in family businesses are not automatically subject to FBT, reinforcing the meaning of “in respect of employment” and providing guidance ahead of the 2026 FBT season.
To support the Australian Government’s objective of doubling philanthropy by 2030, a Productivity Commission inquiry has been set up to analyse motivations for philanthropic giving in Australia and identify opportunities for future growth. Grant Thornton Australia will be making a submission centred around our observations on this matter. Our submission will include considerations on the Deductible Gift Recipient and broader tax framework, the operation of Ancillary Funds, fundraising laws and other related matters.
While Net Zero targets have been on the agenda for years now, we’ve recently seen a rise in measures along the regulatory landscape. Across the globe, there’s been significant public and private investment to support and encourage sustainable practices, implement carbon policy, develop taxes on carbon footprint and plastic use, and more. In a rapidly changing regulatory environment where exporters need to adapt to new measures implemented across multiple jurisdictions, how can Australian businesses adapt? And what tax reforms can businesses expect domestically?
In this episode, Jodi discusses the importance of empathy in the workplace, how we can continue to change the perception around caregiving, and why they continue to be inspired through their work with Circle In.
Australia has commenced its implementation of Tranche 2 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Terrorism Financing (CTF) reforms, presenting an opportunity to shape the scope and nature of obligations for your industry.
Improvements are needed for Government changes to Thin Capitalisation regime’s Exposure Draft (ED) legislation which will apply mainly to multinationals with high interest deductions for income years commencing on or after 1 July 2023. Grant Thornton have identified a number of areas of interest in submissions to Government which reflect our analysis and include the views of our affected clients and their bankers and lawyers.
When it comes to family governance, we often recommend introducing a formal family governance structure while the second generation is being transitioned into the business.
Biotechnology organisations often grapple with three key trends – where the next round of funding will come from, how to attract specialised talent to support vital innovation, and how to tackle manufacturing and scale up. They seek stability and certainty in funding to ensure projects are supported and reach their full potential. How can the upcoming Federal Budget announcement better support this sector?
CPS 230 requires regulated entities to consider service disruption from a different perspective. Working backwards through a scenario, entities must identify the harm that a disruption may cause to its customers or the broader financial system, then take active measures to prevent it (operational risk) and recover from it (operational resilience).
The Government has released anti-avoidance measures, which from 1 July 2023 will deny tax deductions to Australian Significant Global Entities (SGEs) in respect of payments for intangible assets to related party offshore group entities in low tax jurisdictions.
The ATO has recently released guidance to assist in determining the application of the FBT exemption for EVs. There is some helpful clarification provided, but a few other areas remain ambiguous. Here are some of the highlights.
The ATO has amended PCG 2018/9 to extend the corporate tax residency transitional period until 30 June 2023 to allow taxpayers to change their governance arrangements with respect to central management and control of foreign incorporated subsidiaries. The ATO has stated that the transitional period will not be extended again.
We’ve made it to the other side of COVID-19, but what does this mean for businesses feeling significant headwind on the horizon post-pandemic?