The day after this conversation was recorded, the government blinked: on 18 June it announced targeted CGT carve-outs for innovative startups, following more than 1,000 submissions to a Senate inquiry, one of the largest responses to a budget measure on record.

About the guests

Sam Maher is the founder and CEO of GovTech and the driving force behind the Coalition for Australia's Innovation & Investment Future (CAIIF), the cross-industry group that formed within two days of the budget and now represents more than 180 entities. Cheryl Mack is the CEO and co-founder of Aussie Angels, the platform behind more than 45 angel syndicates and over 3,000 wholesale investors, with close to $70 million deployed into early-stage companies. Both have been meeting Treasury and ministers' offices directly to respond to the changes.

What this episode covers

• Why the May 2026 budget changes to CGT, scrapping the 50 per cent discount in favour of indexation and a 30 per cent minimum tax, hit early-stage investment hardest

• The zero or low cost base problem and why inflation-based indexation does little for founders and angels who start from almost nothing

• Why the Early Stage Innovation Company (ESIC) rules, set in 2016, now exclude most pre-seed and seed rounds, and why that matters for the new carve-out

• What CAIIF asked the Senate for: separating property from productive capital, more time for consultation, a sunset clause, and harmonisation across innovation policy

• Cheryl Mack's practical advice to angels: hold fast, keep writing committed cheques, and wait for guidance rather than freezing

• What founders facing a liquidity event in the next twelve months should watch, including ESVCLP structures and debt instruments

• How Australia's proposed CGT settings compare with the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, New Zealand and Israel

Why now

The 18 June carve-out announcement does not end the uncertainty, it reshapes it. Treasury submissions close on 10 July, the second tranche of legislation may not be settled until close to the 1 July 2027 start date, and the carve-out's reliance on the ESIC definition leaves real questions about who actually qualifies. Founders and investors are making capital and hiring decisions now, against rules that are still moving.

Who this episode is for

• Founders raising capital or planning a liquidity event in the next twelve months

• Angel investors and syndicate leads weighing early-stage cheques

• VCs and fund managers assessing how ESVCLP structures change the picture

• Operators and employees holding or being offered equity through an ESS

Links and resources

Coalition for Australia's Innovation & Investment Future (CAIIF): https://www.linkedin.com/company/caiif/

Read the submissions to the Senate Economics Committee tax reform inquiry: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/TLABITRTaxReform/Submissions The Periodic Table of Australian Innovation: https://www.innovationperiodictable.au/