Pre-Election 2022/2023 Federal Budget
The 2022/2023 pre-election budget has been announced and we’d like to boil down the important aspects of this budget for you:
Increase in Low to Middle Income Tax Offset for the current FY2022 year by $420. This gift will appear in your 2022 tax return result. The new max $1500 per person is nice, but none will be repeated next year.
Halving the fuel excise for 6 months. This should save 22c per litre on petrol and diesel.
COVID-19 tests are to be tax deductible if used to attend work.
Bonus 20% tax savings for businesses and $5k funds for Apprentices, to stimulate skills formation.
Bonus 20% tax savings for technology purchases for business (but you’ll need to wait for the FY2023 return to get these)
Confirmation that State Government COVID-19 grants will not be taxable.
Allowing another year of halving the minimum Super Pension payments. Allows people to keep more in tax free retirement super environment.
Big changes to Employee Share Schemes to make them more lucrative for employees, and more painless for employers to use.
$250 per Centrelink recipient to be paid during the Election Campaign, to help with cost of living and voter’s choice (they hope).
Lots of new funds for a multitude of projects in marginal seat electorates.
The deficit will be fourth highest ever and debt and deficit is predicted as far as the eye can see. Real wages are to fall 1.25% this year and maybe rise 0.25% next, so living standards are expected to decline modestly, hence the eagerness to provide cash handouts in various forms. This was a budget of modest ambition. The Employee Share Scheme changes are excellent. The training measures are good but will be challenged by a tight labour market. The discontinuation of the Low and Middle Income Tax Offset after this year will hurt but is a welcome longer term saving and politically the most difficult thing done in this budget. The savings necessary to balance the books are otherwise non existent but necessary and likely to be revealed early in the next term of government.