The Federal Budget includes the priorities that the MTA Queensland submitted to provide Members with the confidence to invest and employ.

Economic Statistics                                      

Deficit: $161 billion this year, falling to $57 billion in 2024‑25.

Net debt: $617.5 billion or 30.per cent of GDP this year and peak at $980.6 billion or 40.9 per cent of GDP in June 2025.

Real GDP: 4.25% (2021-22 forecast) |  2.50% (2022-23 forecast)

Employment:  1% (2021-22 forecast) | 1% (2022-23 forecast)

Unemployment rate: 5% (2021-22 forecast) | 4.75% (2022-23 forecast)

Wage Price Index: 1.50 (2021-22 forecast) | 2.25 (2022-23 forecast)

Consumer Price Index: 1.75 (2021-22 forecast) | 2.25 (2022-23 forecast)

Personal Income Tax

Over 10 million low‑ and middle‑income earners will receive up to $1,080 for individuals or $2,160 for couples.

Increase Medicare levy for low-income thresholds for singles, families, and seniors and pensioners from 1 July 2020.

Business

Extension of the 2020-21 Budget measure JobMaker Plan — temporary full expensing to support investment and jobs for 12 months until 30 June 2023 to further support business investment and the creation of more jobs.  The extension will allow eligible businesses with aggregated annual turnover or total income of less than $5 billion to deduct the full cost of eligible depreciable assets of any value, acquired from 7:30pm AEDT on 6 October 2020 and first used or installed ready for use by 30 June 2023.

Extension of the 2020-21 Budget measure JobMaker Plan — temporary loss carry-back to support cash flow. The extension will allow eligible companies to carry back (utilise) tax losses from the 2022-23 income year to offset previously taxed profits as far back as the 2018-19 income year when they lodge their 2022-23 tax return.

$5.0 million over three years from 2021-22 to support small businesses to adopt the Australasian Recycling Label.

$15.5 million over two years from 2020-21 to provide more people the opportunity to explore and start their own small business, by providing an additional 1,000 places under the New Business Assistance with New Enterprise Incentive Scheme program and an additional 350 places under the Exploring Being My Own Boss Workshop program

An additional $16.0 million over four years from 2021-22 to ensure the effective operation of the Payment Times Reporting Scheme, which came into effect on 1 January 2021. The Scheme requires large businesses to report on their payment times to small businesses.

The power of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) will be extended to pause or modify ATO debt recovery action in relation to disputed debts that are being reviewed by the Small Business Taxation Division (SBTD) of the AAT.

Compliance Reduction Strategy Includes:

$11.0 million over three years from 2021-22 to support the implementation of automatic mutual recognition of occupation licences across states and territories

$10.0 million over four years from 2021-22 to modernise business communication by amending legislation in the Treasury Portfolio to be technology-neutral

$10.0 million over four years from 2021-22 (and $1.2 million ongoing per year) to implement regulatory technology solutions to assist employers to interpret and comply with modern awards, and to explore and promote new ways of assisting employers through regulatory technology

$7.2 million over three years from 2021-22 to invest in the improvement, maintenance and review of the Employment Contract Tool, which helps small business employers to make employment contracts that comply with workplace laws

Establishment of a reinsurance pool for cyclones and related flooding, to commence from 1 July 2022 and be backed by an annually reinstated $10 billion government guarantee.  This means the cost of providing insurance would be lower, and these savings would be passed on to consumers and small business in the form of lower premiums. The reinsurance pool would also increase insurance availability in high-risk areas by helping insurers manage their exposure to cyclone risk. The scheme would cover consumers with home building, home contents, residential strata, residential mixed-use and certain small business property insurance policies in cyclone-prone areas.

SME Digital Capability

$15.3 million over three years from 2021-22 to promote and accelerate the adoption of e-invoicing by businesses and across all levels of Government

$12.7 million in 2021-22 to expand the Australian Small Business Advisory Service Digital Solutions program reach to up to 17,000 small businesses.

Skills & Training

Exclusion of the first $250 of deductions for prescribed courses of education. It will have effect from the first income year after the date of Royal Assent of the enabling legislation

$506.3 million over two years from 2021-22 to extend the JobTrainer Fund to deliver around 163,000 additional low fee and free training places in areas of skills need, including 33,800 additional training places to support aged care skills needs and 10,000 places for digital skills courses. Eligibility for the Fund will be expanded to include selected employed cohorts that are continuing to be affected by COVID-19. This measure also includes $6.3 million for a campaign to encourage take-up of training opportunities

$2.7 billion over four years from 2020-21 to expand the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidy to further support businesses and Group Training Organisations to take on new apprentices and trainees. This measure will uncap the number of eligible places and increase the duration of the 50 per cent wage subsidy to 12 months from the date an apprentice or trainee commences with their employer. From 5 October 2020 to 31 March 2022, businesses of any size can claim the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidy for new apprentices or trainees who commence during this period. Eligible businesses will be reimbursed up to 50 per cent of an apprentice or trainee’s wages of up to $7,000 per quarter for 12 months.

Provision of 5,000 additional gateway service places and in-training support services to encourage and support more women commencing in non-traditional trade occupations.

The Incentives for Australian Apprenticeships Program will be delayed by three months to commence on 1 October 2021 replacing the current Australian Apprenticeships Incentive Program (AAIP) with a simplified Australian Apprenticeships pathway, which will be easier for employers to access and navigate. The AAIP and Additional Identified Skills Shortage payments will also be extended to 30 September 2021 to ensure eligible apprentices continue to receive support throughout the deferral period and minimise disruption to apprentices and their employers. This measure builds on the 2020-21 Budget measure titled JobMaker Plan — boosting apprenticeships wage subsidy.

Women’s Economic Security Statement

$1.8 billion over five years from 2020-21 to improve women’s workforce participation and economic security

$998.1 million over four years from 2021-22 (and $2.3 million in 2025-26) for initiatives to reduce, and support the victims of Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence (FDSV) against women and children.

Automotive Taxation

Luxury Car Tax: $800m (2020-21) | $680m (2021-22 est.)

Luxury car tax (LCT) receipts have been revised up $260 million in 2020-21 and $480 million over the four years to 2023-24. LCT receipts are forecast to increase by 40.3 per cent in 2020-21 but decrease by 15.0 per cent in 2021-22. This is consistent with stronger-than-expected purchases of motor vehicles in the current year, but the expectation is that this will moderate in the latter years of the forward estimates.

Fuel Excise: 

Petrol: $5,850m (2020-21) | $6,100m (2021-22 est.)

Diesel: $12,530m (2020-21 est.) | $13,140m (2021-22 est.)

Customs Duty: 

Passenger Motor Vehicles: $340m (2020-21) | $310m (2021-22 est.)

Automotive Research & Development

Tariff Concession

Extension of the automotive research and development tariff concession for a further four years until 30 June 2025. The extension took effect on 1 April 2021. Companies that are registered under the Automotive Transformation Scheme Act 2009 as at 31 December 2020 will continue to be able to claim a tariff concession of up to five per cent on the value of imports used for automotive research and development in Australia.

Infrastructure 

An additional $15.2 billion over ten years to fund infrastructure commitments

12 May 2021