The Liberal National Party coalition budget for 2022-23 was handed down on Tuesday, 29th March 2022 by Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenburg.

Included in the budget measures:

Low & Middle Income Earners Offset Temporary Increase

Middle income earners currently getting the $1,080 LMITO will have that increased by $420 (to $1,500) for the current 2021-22 financial year.

The Low Middle Income Tax Offset becomes payable at the time of tax return assessment, and so will flow to taxpayers from July 2022 onwards.

$250 Cost Of Living Payment

Welfare recipients including pensioners will receive an one-off $250 cost of living payment “within weeks“.

The payment will be exempt from tax and not be counted as income support for the purposes of any income support payment.

The full list of beneficiaries:

• Age Pension
  • Disability Support Pension
  • Parenting Payment
  • Carer Payment
  • Carer Allowance (if not in receipt of a primary income support payment)
  • Jobseeker Payment
  • Youth Allowance
  • Austudy and Abstudy Living Allowance
  • Double Orphan Pension
  • Special Benefit
  • Farm Household Allowance
  • Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) holders
  • Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders
  • eligible Veterans’ Affairs payment recipients and Veteran Gold card holders

Beneficiaries eligible under more than one category will only be entitled to one payment.

Expansion Of Paid Parental Leave

Paid parental leave and the Dad and Partner Pay support schemes will be merged and available on a family basis for a total of 20 weeks paid leave (previously 18 weeks for PPL).

Single parents will also be included.

The income test will be broadened to include an additional household income eligibility
test.

The announcement asserts that the “changes will not result in any existing eligible claimants being worse off.

Parents can take leave any time within 2 years of the birth or adoption of their child.

Fuel Excise Halved For 6 Months

Fuel excise will be temporarily halved for a period of 6 months from 30 March 2022. The Treasurer stated that this will reduce the price of petrol by 22 cents a litre.

This will also mean that Fuel Tax Credits for heavy vehicles on public roads will be reduced to zero in respect of that claim period.

Skills, Training and Technology 20% Deduction Boost For Small Businesses

[Note: This measure was not enacted by the LNP government before losing office in the May 2022 election. The Labor government has since announced that the measures will proceed, and when enacted, will take effect from 29 March 2022 until 30 June 2024.]

Draft legislation and explanatory materials have been released for comment.

A skills and training “boost” in the form of an additional 20% tax deduction on the costs of eligible employee training, and for the uptake of digital technologies, will be available for small businesses with aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 million to apply from budget night 29 March 2022.

The 20% boost for 2021-22 costs will be claimable in the 2022-23 tax return.

Boost elements for skills and training incurred in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 years will be claimable in the year incurred.

Eligible technology investment costs include business expenses and depreciating assets that support digital adoption, such as portable payment devices, cyber security systems or subscriptions to cloud-based services.

There is an annual cap of $100,000 on each year’s eligible expenditure until 30 June 2023.

Claims arising in 2021-22 will be included in tax returns for 2022-23.

Claims arising in 2022-23 will be claimable within the same year.

Retirees’ Minimum Super Draw-down Rates

The current 50% reduction of drawdown rates for account-based pensions is extended for a further year until 30 June 2023.

Primary Producers’ Carbon Credits Concessionary Treatment Extended

The proceeds from the sale of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) and biodiversity certificates generated from on-farm activities to be treated as primary production income for the purposes of the Farm Management Deposits (FMD) scheme and tax averaging from 1 July 2022.

Aged Care Workers Cash Bonus

Aged care workers in residential aged care and home care to receive bonuses of up to $800 over 2 years from 2021-22.

Patent Box Measures Expanded

[Note: This measure was not enacted by the LNP government which lost office in the May 2022 election and is therefore subject to consideration of the incoming Labor government.]

The patent box measures announced in the 2021-22 Budget and currently before Parliament are to be expanded apply from 11 May 2021 and to support:

practical, technology-focused innovations in the Australian agricultural sector; and

the Government’s technology-focused approach to reducing emissions in line with the Government’s target to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

Covid 19

Previous announcements have been confirmed in respect of payments from various state and territory business support programs which are to be non-assessable non-exempt income until 30 June 2022; and..

..the costs of COVID-19 tests in order to attend a place of work are tax deductible for individuals from 1 July 2021 and likewise FBT will not apply.

Expanded Access To Employee Share Schemes & Red Tap Reduction

From Budget Paper No. 2:

“Where employers make larger offers in connection with employee share schemes in
unlisted companies, participants can invest up to:

$30,000 per participant per year, accruable for unexercised options for up to 5 years,
plus 70 per cent of dividends and cash bonuses; or

any amount, if it would allow them to immediately take advantage of a planned sale
or listing of the company to sell their purchased interests at a profit.

The Government will also remove regulatory requirements for offers to independent
contractors, where they do not have to pay for interests.“

Medicare Levy Low-Income Thresholds

The customary annual increase in medicare levy low income eligibility thresholds have been announced:

Single seniors and pensioners threshold: increases from $36,705 to $36,925.

Family threshold for seniors and pensioners: increases from $51,094 to $51,401

Singles threshold increases from $23,226 to $23,365.

Family threshold increases from $39,167 to $39,402

Each dependant child or student increases the family income thresholds by a further $3,619 (previously $3,597).

The Albanese government’s budget for 2022-23 was delivered on 25 October 2022 by Federal Treasurer, Dr Jim Chalmers.

This is the second federal budget for the year, the first having been delivered by the former Liberal National Party government in March 2022.

Budget priorities identified by the Treasurer include the government’s longer-term response to cost of living pressures, and the delivery of plans for cheaper child care, cheaper medicines, training people for higher wage opportunities and plans for cleaner and cheaper energy over time.

Direct tax measures in the budget are minor, and mainly reflect a continuation for the time being of the previous government’s rates and settings.

no change to personal tax rates 2022-23

“Stage 3” tax cuts are still scheduled to start from 2024-25

LMITO not extended to 2022-23

The Working From Home 80 cents per hour short cut home office expenses method has also expired 30 June 2022

For business taxpayers, an earlier budget proposal to allow an option to self-assess the effective life of intangible assets has been dropped.

The budget was silent on the Instant Asset Write-off and Loss Carry Back provisions which are currently (at the time of writing) in place until 30 June 2023.