In Australia, startups recently received good news from Treasurer Joe Hockey: new tax incentives for startups, specifically around crowdfunding, also known as crowd-source equity funding (CSEF), notes Gizmodo Australia.
The tax incentives are part of the new 2015-16 federal budget. Gizmodo notes,
[AU] $7.8 million will be spent getting the Australian Securities and Investments commission to work up and implement a new regulatory framework for crowdfunding money raised by startups and how they might access it once it has been raised. The new framework will address the requirements for reporting and disclosing the use of crowdfunds by startups.
The AU$7.8 million will be received over the next four years from 2015-16, notes ZDNet. The initiative falls under one of the key focuses for the federal government’s budget this year, to support businesses, especially small businesses, to invest, hire and grow through the Jobs and Small Business deal, an AU$5.5 billion package. As one of the benefits of this package, as soon as startups begin a business they will be able to deduct professional expenses.
The budget papers add,
CSEF is an emerging form of funding that allows entrepreneurs to raise funds online from a large number of small investors and has the potential to increase funding options available for entrepreneurs to assist in the development of their business.