Allegra Spender proposes simpler 40% startup tax discount to challenge
Wentworth MP Allegra Spender proposes a simpler 40% startup tax discount instead of the government's complex scheme.
Allegra Spender, the independent MP for Wentworth, told Parliament the government's new Innovative Business CGT Concession (IBCC) is too complex and unfairly punishes startups. Spender's alternative offers a 40 per cent discount for active business assets.
It removes age caps and investment thresholds that limit who qualifies. The government's plan gives a 50 per cent discount but only to narrowly defined innovative businesses.
This creates bureaucratic hurdles and uncertainty. Spender argues her broader approach would deliver similar revenue while treating all entrepreneurs equally.
The Parliamentary Budget Office backs her claim that the economics work. Former Kevin Rudd adviser Lachlan Harris, who founded comparison site One Big Switch, supports Spender's plan, saying that defining which businesses are innovative enough creates unfair incentives.
- independent MP for Wentworth
- Allegra Spender
- 40 per cent for active business assets
- Spender proposed discount
- 50 per cent for innovative businesses
- Government discount
- founder of One Big Switch
- Lachlan Harris
Why it mattersHow startup taxes are written determines whether founders, employees and investors gain confidence to back new ventures or look overseas.
AustraliaAustralian entrepreneurs would face lower compliance costs and clearer tax certainty under Spender's proposal, potentially encouraging more business formation.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
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