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Australian Tax Review - Recommendations and Response

May 02, 2010 3:31 AM ET
Paul Hanly profile picture
Paul Hanly's Blog
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The Henry Tax Review report and recommendations have been released today.
The final report can be downloaded at:
taxreview.treasury.gov.au/content/Conten...

The Excutive Summary is at:
taxreview.treasury.gov.au/content/FinalR...

The Australian government has also released it's response:
www.futuretax.gov.au/pages/default.aspx#...

The Government web site summarises the main points as:

Everybody has a stake in the tax system - a tax system where everybody pays their fair share, so all benefit. A tax system that builds a stronger economy with more jobs and a higher standard of living. A fairer system with fewer loopholes and better rewards for work. And simpler taxes, so families and businesses spend less time bound up in red tape.

The tax plan for our future is a major package of tax reforms that will harness the super profits of our mining boom and redirect them to the vital task of national economic reform.

Promoting growth across the economy, through company tax cuts and small business tax cuts and simplification.

Supporting the resource sector, through infrastructure funding, and better support to smaller resource and exploration companies.

Boosting national savings through a 12 per cent superannuation guarantee and more generous catch-up contribution caps.

Changing the way resources are taxed will ensure that Australia continues to be an attractive place for new industries and businesses to set up and new jobs to be developed for now and future generations.

The Resource Super Profits Tax will tax resource projects on their profits rather than just their production. This will see Australia get a fair share from our natural resource wealth, which we will use to promote growth across the entire economy.

Resource States will be the major beneficiaries. They will keep their royalties, but also be eligible for new ongoing infrastructure funding. This will deliver the infrastructure they need to allow their State to grow.

New concessions will be given to the 3.5 million lower income Australians who currently get little or no concession on their superannuation guarantee savings.

The vast majority of businesses operating in Australia are small businesses, representing the backbone of the Australian economy.

The Government will introduce instant write off for small business assets worth up to $5,000. This means many small business investments will be able to be written off in the year of purchase.

Small businesses will be able to depreciate all other assets (other than buildings) in a single pool, at a rate of 30 per cent. This means small businesses won’t need to do complex tax classification of different asset types. These changes will let small businesses write off many assets more quickly, increasing their cash flows at the time when they are investing to grow.


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