September 2006
The Tax Laws Amendment (2006 Measures No 5) Bill 2006, introduced into the House of Representatives on 17 August 2006, proposes amendments to give effect to fringe benefits tax (FBT), goods and services tax (GST) and income tax measures previously announced by the Government.
FBT - reducing regulatory burden
The Bill proposes to amend the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 to give effect to the Government's response to the Report Rethinking Regulation: Report of the Taskforce on Reducing Regulatory Burdens on Business (see article on page 5) and the measures announced in the 2006-2007 Federal Budget to reduce the compliance costs for employers in relation to FBT. The Bill will:
- increase the minor benefits exemption threshold from less than $100 to less than $300
- increase the reportable fringe benefits amount threshold from more than $1000 to more than $2000
- increase the reduction of taxable value that applies to eligible fringe benefits (ie in-house fringe benefits and airline transport fringe benefits) from $500 to $1000, and
- extend the definition of “remote” for the purposes of the FBT concessions where the shortest practicable route involves travel by water.
The proposed amendments will apply in respect of the FBT year commencing 1 April 2007 and all later FBT years.
For further information, please contact:
Greg Kent, Director
PricewaterhouseCoopers Tax
Employment Taxes
Phone: +61 3 8603 3149
Geoff Wheatley, Director
PricewaterhouseCoopers Tax
Employment Taxes
Phone: +61 2 8266 7923
GST car and pharmaceutical concessions - military compensation scheme
The Bill amends the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act) to take into account the commencement of the military specific compensation scheme established by the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRC Act). It ensures that, with effect from 1 July 2004, certain pharmaceutical and similar supplies are GST-free and extends the GST-free car concession to certain persons with military service who are eligible for a disability pension.
For further information, please contact:
Ken Fehily, Partner
PricewaterhouseCoopers Tax
Goods and Services Tax
Phone: +61 3 8603 6216
Kevin O’Rourke, Partner
PricewaterhouseCoopers Tax
Goods and Services Tax
Phone: +61 2 8266 3114
Removing the part-year tax-free threshold for taxpayers who have ceased to be full-time students
The Bill proposes to amend the Income Tax Rates Act 1986 to remove the part-year tax-free threshold for taxpayers ceasing full-time education. The amendment is designed to reduce compliance costs for taxpayers who have finished full-time education for the first time by removing the requirement for these taxpayers to calculate a part-year tax-free threshold.
This means that students who cease full-time education for the first time are entitled to the standard tax-free threshold of $6,000 that currently applies to all resident taxpayers. The proposed amendments will apply to assessments for income years commencing on or after 1 July 2006.
For further information, please complete the following form:
