If it hasn't happened by now, it ain't happening.Also, the CIB...

If it hasn't happened by now, it ain't happening.

Also, the CIB sale seemed curious to me, so I did a little digging on whether there are particular reasons someone might want to sell down to just below 40%. Here's something I found, which is quite new (Sept 2023), and which seems like it could be relevant.


"The ATO’s release recently of TD 2023/5, which provides guidance on the Commissioner’s discretion in section 328-125(6) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997), has potential relevance for companies accessing the refundable R&D tax offset.

The R&D tax incentive applies in the following ways:
- A refundable tax offset for R&D entities with aggregated turnover of less than $20 million, or
- A non-refundable tax offset for R&D entities with an aggregated turnover of $20 million or more.

An R&D entity’s ‘aggregated turnover’ is calculated with reference to its annual turnover and the annual turnover of other entities, if any, that are ‘connected with’ or an ‘affiliate’ of the R&D entity. ‘Connected with’ is based on the concept of control, as defined in section 328-125 of the ITAA 1997. Accordingly, the concept of control is an important factor for determining whether the R&D entity can access the refundable R&D tax offset.

For companies, control can be established by having rights to at least 40 per cent of the distribution of income, capital, or voting power.

Where an entity has a control percentage of the R&D entity of between 40 per cent and no more than 50 per cent, and this does not reflect the actual relationship between the R&D entity and the other entity, the tax law gives the Commissioner the discretion to treat the entity as not being controlled by the other entity. However, TD 2023/5 emphasises that section 328-125(6) of the ITAA 1997 requires the Commissioner to positively conclude that there is actual control of the R&D entity by a third entity or entities. It is not sufficient to merely show that the R&D entity is not actually controlled by the entity that owns more than 40 per cent but less than 50 per cent."