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Science 15 October 1999:
Vol. 286. no. 5439, p. 387
DOI: 10.1126/science.286.5439.387c
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ScienceScope

A major cut in Australia's capital gains tax could spur investment in biotech and other fields. The new rates are intended to open the door to outside sources of venture capital and encourage Australians to keep their funds in-country. The tax break "will remove a major barrier," predicts John Mattick, director of Queensland's Institute of Molecular Bioscience.

The new rates are part of a top-to-bottom government overhaul. The current 48% capital gains tax would be cut in half for individual Australians and erased for overseas pension funds that commit cash to Australian projects for at least 1 year. Skeptics note that the breaks don't apply to Australian investment funds. Still, some research centers are taking advantage of the change: Sydney's Garvan Institute, for example, has already spun off investor-ready mental health and diabetes research firms. Legislators still must approve the changes, which a recent review deemed critical to raising Australian's international science standing (Science, 21 May, p. 1248).

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)