The Australian Labor Government provides over $20 billion to support innovation through the R&D Tax Scheme while providing only $150 million to support export marketing through the EMDG scheme.
To put the government’s current approach into perspective, please consider this hypothetical scenario.
An Australian business decides to develop a new product and commits $1 million towards developing the required innovation. On completion of the development of this potentially world leading product they decide to explore international trade opportunities and commit $7500 towards those activities.
Does this sound ridiculous? It should, because it is!! But this is exactly what the Gillard Labor Government is currently doing.
The Australian Labor Government currently provides over $20 billion through the R&D Tax Scheme while the EMDG scheme is capped at $150 million of which 10% is used to administer the scheme. So in reality the situation is much worse than described.
When is the Government going to get serious about supporting Australian businesses to promote their products on the international market? The EMDG scheme requires a complete revamp and a significant cash injection to at least $500m. We encourage you to contact the Minister for Trade, Hon Dr Craig Emerson, and ask him to explain their rationale for abandoning exporters. His contact details are available on www.trademinister.gov.au