SPECIAL EDITION: FEDERAL BUDGET 2015-16
The ALRTA welcomes the Federal Government’s small business tax changes announced in Federal Budget 2015-16. The key measures are:
- The company tax rate for small businesses with a turnover of less than $2 million per year will be reduced from 30 per cent to 28.5 per cent.
- Individuals with a business income from an unincorporated small business with a turnover of less than $2 million per year will receive a tax offset of up to $1,000 per individual per year.
- From 7.30pm 12 May 2015 until 30 June 2017, small businesses with a turnover of less than $2 million per year will be able to immediately deduct the cost of every asset they purchase costing less than $20,000. This $20,000 limit applies to each individual item. Small businesses can apply this $20,000 rule to as many individual items as they wish.
There are almost 49,000 trucking businesses in Australia. Of these, more than 45,000 come in under the $2 million turnover thresholds announced by the Government.
The Federal Government has also committed funds to infrastructure projects in all States and Territories. Importantly for our industry, the Budget includes a commitment of $100 million for improving roads in Northern Australia that are critical to the beef industry.
It is also important to note that:
- The Budget did not announce a decision in response to the NTC’s recommendation to increase the road user charge by 0.6 percent. We have made a submission opposing any increase and I understand that no decision has yet been made.
- Indexation of the fuel tax rate by CPI will not affect the net fuel price paid by trucking operators because the fuel tax credit rate will rise by the same amount.
For more information the ATA has released Key announcements in the 2015-16 Budget for member associations.