According to R&D Tax Incentive expert Kris Gale from Michael Johnson Associates Pty Limited, an early election could cause unintentional collateral damage: the proposed cuts to the R&D Tax Incentive.
"When Malcolm Turnbull requested the Governor General to prorogue Parliament to deal with a hostile Senate, he (most likely unintentionally) caused the Bill to cut the rate of the R&D Tax Incentive by 1.5% to lapse on Sunday night.
"The Bill, which had proposed a rate cut to apply retrospectively for all claims from 1 July 2014, has been up for consideration by the Senate since June last year. It was first introduced to the Lower House back in May 2015 and it has caused some uncertainty for all claimants, particularly those entitled to receive a refundable 45% tax offset.
The lapsed bill may still be debated by the Senate in its current form if the Senate chooses to resume consideration of that bill. However, and this is a big however, if a general election is called before the Senate is due to sit again, then the bill cannot be re-considered in its current form and would need to be introduced as a new bill in the Lower House.
"Given Malcolm Turnbull announced this week that he would ask the Governor General after the 3 May Budget to dissolve both houses of Parliament and call an election on 2 July, it seems highly unlikely that the rate cut Bill will be debated."