Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 6) Act 2013 (84 of 2013)

Schedule 3   Geothermal energy

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997

16   After subsection 40-730(2)

Insert:

Exploration or prospecting for geothermal energy resources

(2A) You can deduct expenditure you incur in an income year on *exploration or prospecting for *geothermal energy resources from which energy can be extracted by *geothermal energy extraction if:

(a) you carried on geothermal energy extraction; or

(b) it would be reasonable to conclude you proposed to carry on geothermal energy extraction; or

(c) you carried on a *business of, or a business that included, exploration or prospecting for geothermal energy resources from which energy can be extracted by geothermal energy extraction, and the expenditure was necessarily incurred in carrying on that business.

(2B) However, you cannot deduct expenditure under subsection (2A) if it is expenditure on:

(a) development drilling for *geothermal energy resources; or

(b) operations in the course of working a property containing geothermal energy resources.

No deduction under this section for cost of depreciating asset