There's a few policy issues keeping us busy at the moment. One important issue will be the outcomes of the Business Tax Working Group, whose consultation paper was released on Monday. Their brief was to investigate and recommend options that would pay for a proposed decrease in the corporate tax rate.
The "base-broadening options" that they focused on were:
capital allowances and the treatment of capital expenditures (page 31)
the R&D tax incentive (page 40).
They had a variety of options canvassed under each of those headings. We shall be looking to put a submission in and any views you have that you would like us to consider in our preparation of the submission would be really helpful thanks.
We also continue to press the Government to respond to the Board of Tax's report on the VCLP. At an AVCAL lunch with the Assistant Treasurer we raised the issue very strongly but got no better understanding of their time lines. Minister Bradbury did get a much better understanding of how important it is to a number of our members.
It has been membership renewal time and I'd like to thank all of those who have renewed their membership very promptly. Your support of AVCAL's ongoing work is appreciated.
Our annual conference is now only 5 weeks away and since our last newsletter, we've secured some more great speakers. On day two of the conference, the streamed sessions will focus strongly on the impact of technology on portfolios, as well as exits and getting a deal done. Overall, it's looking like a great line up with some high-quality content. If you still haven't booked your registration, now is the time to do it.
Our last few networking events before conference still have some places available. Register now for Study Group case study in Melbourne or in Brisbane.
On a final note, I'm pleased to announce that AVCAL's philanthropy partner for 2012 is the Future Direction Network (FDN), a charity that encourages students from South West Sydney to attend university. As you'll read later on, the values of both of our organisations are well aligned with our commitment to encouraging education and innovation. Hopefully Corey Payne, the FDN Chairman and Cantebury Bulldogs NRL player, will be joining us for the AVCAL Awards at conference (football commitments withstanding), and you'll also be hearing more about FDN in upcoming communications.
Places are still available for the 2012 AVCAL alpha conference. Register now to secure your spot (note you must be logged on).
When you register, you'll receive a confirmation email with website links to access AVCAL's special hotel rates, and discounted flight rates thanks to our Official Airline Partner, Virgin Australia. If you're feeling a bit sporty, you can also register for the golf day being held at Links Hope Island or the inaugural 5km alphathon.
Recently we were introduced to an impressive, young man with some important goals: Corey Payne, the Chairman of the Future Direction Network (FDN). Corey grew up in South Western Sydney and is now a current Canterbury Bulldogs player, has a Bachelor of Commerce and has almost completed a Master of Commerce. He is in the running for a Pride of Australia medal and has just been awarded a Churchill Scholarship.
Corey leads the organisation, which provides mentoring support to kids from low socio-economic backgrounds from South Western Sydney to encourage them to tertiary study. FDN’s aim is to raise a $500,000 fund to provide scholarships to these kids in addition to the mentoring program. FDN is now at the point where they need to raise corporate awareness of their program in order to raise the fund and encourage corporates to get involved in mentoring. FDN Network’s ambassadors include Chris Bath, Journalist and Newsreader and Chris Bowen, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.
AVCAL is pleased to support FDN as its philathropy partner for 2012, and we'll be providing more information about them in future communications.
AVCAL/Cambridge Associates PE and VC Benchmark Index Q1 2012
The Cambridge Associates LLC Australia Private Equity and Venture Capital Index (C|A Australia Index) rose by 7.80% (net of fees) in the twelve months leading to 31 March 2012, outperforming the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index (ASX 300) by 14.07% over the same period.
Research shows significant employment increase in PE-backed European companies Adveq
A survey of 34 Adveq invested PE managers, representing 460 portfolio companies over an eleven year period, revealed a 26% increase in employment during PE ownership. The biggest and absolute increase occurred in the small buyout segment (funds up to EUR500m).
The research library is a one-stop centre for accessing current international research and industry reports on PE and VC. A wide selection of items has recently been posted - look for the NEW symbol.
You can now subscribe to email updates as news, research or policy related matters are posted to our website. Simply login to your account on our website and subscribe as required via the "update your details" field. If you don't know your login, just click "forgot your password?" and enter your name and email address. A link will then be emailed to you so you can reset it. You can do this as often as necessary.
Tech23 is an event that celebrates Australian innovation. It brings together 23 carefully selected young technology companies, spotlighting their technologies in front of panels of Industry Leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, and 400+ engaged and informed attendees.
