Post-Budget stocktake of unenacted tax measures

The Treasurer, Dr Jim Chalmers, handed down the Albanese Government’s first Federal Budget last night (Tuesday 25 October 2022). You will have already received our special Budget Night documents summarising the key announcements in the tax and superannuation space, and a quick reference timeline that sets out the proposed application dates at a glance.

For your convenience, the links to these documents are here:

• 2022-23 Federal Budget summary
• Federal Budget timeline

We have also prepared a handy Budget infographic, which is at the end of this article.

The above downloads set out all you need to know about what was in the Budget that is relevant to the tax profession. But new announcements do not render previous ones forgotten. This article will provide a status stocktake of previously announced measures.

Budget announcements — tax measures that will not proceed

While there are no big-ticket tax and superannuation revelations for individuals, family groups and SMEs, the Budget documents do provide certainty about which previously announced — but as yet unlegislated — measures will not proceed:

• self-assessment of the effective life of certain intangible depreciating assets
• amendments to the debt/equity rules
• changes to the Taxation of Financial Arrangements (TOFA) rules
• changes to the taxation of asset-backed financing arrangements
• introduction of a new tax and regulatory framework for limited partnership collective investment vehicles
• changes to the annual audit requirement for certain SMSFs
• introduction of a $10,000 limit for cash payments made to businesses
• introduction of a requirement for retirement income product providers to report standardised metrics in product disclosure statements
• establishment of a deductible gift recipient category for providers of pastoral care and analogous well-being services in schools.

Budget announcements — tax measures to be deferred

The Budget documents also confirm that the start dates for the following proposed measures will be deferred to allow sufficient time for legislation and implementation:

• the introduction of a sharing economy reporting regime for:
• ride-sourcing and short-term accommodation — from 1 July 2022 to 1 July 2023
• all other reportable transactions — from 1 July 2023 to 1 July 2024
• see the Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 2) Bill 2022, currently before the Senate
• the relaxing of SMSF residency requirements — from 1 July 2022 to the income year commencing on or after Royal Assent
• the technical amendments to TOFA rules — from 1 July 2022 to the income year commencing on or after Royal Assent.

Before the Budget: initiatives of the previous government

The Budget documents are silent on some key tax matters which have previously been flagged for attention, including:

• Division 7A reform
• Individual tax residency rules — see the Board of Taxation report here
• Company tax residency rules — see the Board of Taxation report here.

As expected, and as confirmed by the Treasurer himself before Tuesday night, the Budget does not include any changes to the legislated stage 3 personal tax cuts which are due to commence on 1 July 2024.

There was also no announcement about the SBE instant asset write-off threshold which is due to revert to $1,000 on 1 July 2023. While $1,000 is the threshold in statute, due to various temporary incentives it has not been less than $20,000 since before 12 May 2015. It is currently uncapped until 30 June 2023.

Upon coming into office in May as a first-term government, Labor inherited many unenacted measures initiated by the previous Morrison Government.

When the 46^th Parliament was dissolved on 11 April 2022, 250 Bills before Parliament lapsed and are therefore not proceeding unless re-introduced.

The following Bills which lapsed when Parliament was dissolved have been reintroduced as indicated below or have yet to be reintroduced.

The tax measures announced by the previous Government in its last federal Budget 2022–23 on 29 March 2022 and which had bipartisan support may be re-introduced into Parliament by the new Government.

Further training for your team 

Join us at the beginning of each month as we review the current tax landscape. Our monthly Online Tax Updates and Public Sessions are excellent and cost effective options to stay on top of your CPD requirements. We present these monthly online, and also offer face-to-face Public Sessions at 16 locations across Australia. Click here to find a location near you.

Online training

• 2022-23 Federal Budget Webinar – recording now available
• November Tax Update – we’ll cover the key Budget implications

Personalised training options

We can also present these Updates at your firm or through a private online session, with content tailored to your client base – please contact us here to submit an expression of interest or visit our In-house training page for more information. You can also reach us at 0413 955 686 for a chat about your training needs and how we can assist you.

Our 2022-23 Federal Budget Infographic