In order for us to be on the same page, before we can move on, it’s important to define the words ‘government assistance’ and ‘grant’. 

Under ‘government assistance’ we first need to understand who this government that’s assisting us is. Within IAS 20 (‘Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance’) the government is defined as government, government agencies and similar bodies whether local, national or international. So it’s not just the government but also other bodies with similar functions as their responsibility (i.e. supporting certain areas through budgeted means). ‘Government assistance’ in this sense is then an action designed to provide an economic benefit specific to an entity or range of entities qualifying under certain criteria. As it is mentioned, the entities need to fall ‘under certain criteria’ and thus government assistance is almost always conditional. Once the conditions are met, the assistance shall be provided.

Now, as for ‘grant’, IAS 20 defines it as assistance in the form of transfers of resources to an entity in return for past or future compliance with certain conditions relating to the operating activities of the entity. For the sake of clarity, under ‘operating activities’ one can mean both assets (i.e. purchasing or constructing one) and expenses incurred.

At least under IAS 20 and I would presume that under most accounting frameworks out there, one would not define tax benefits (for determining taxable profits of an example) as government assistance.