The wild card committee that may decide startups’ CGT fate
The senators keen to determine the fate of the government’s capital gains tax changes span the full spectrum of Australian politics — and many have never engaged with the startup sector.
A cross-party group of senators — ranging from David Pocock to Pauline Hanson — are lining up to sit on the committee that will determine what treatment Australia’s startup and venture capital sector gets under the government’s proposed capital gains tax changes.
Whoever ends up on the committee could shape an outcome very different to the proposal set out in the budget on Tuesday — but it also risks not aligning with what the industry is hoping for.
The breadth of interest reflects the scale of the backlash since Tuesday, when Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced the CGT inclusion rate would rise from 50% to 67% for assets held longer than 12 months.
The changes were primarily aimed at cooling property investment, but their application across all asset classes caught the startup and venture capital sector off guard.
