Nurses, teachers, doctors and other hard-working locals in the South Burnett will be the big winners from the Federal Government’s decision to reverse the tax deductibility of self-education expenses, Member for Flynn Ken O’Dowd said today.
Mr O’Dowd welcomed an announcement to “scrap the cap” made by Treasurer Joe Hockey.
“With the vast bulk of claims for self-education expenses coming from those earning less than $80,000, this was a cap on those on the frontline of the health and education sector,” Mr O’Dowd said.
“Those earning less than $80,000 make up the vast bulk of claims for self-education expenses.”
“Removing the cap is great news for thousands of nurses, teachers and others who would have struggled to afford critical education courses and vital self-accreditation.
“The previous Labor Government announced a cap of $2000 on tax‑deductibility for self‑education expenses as a part of their $2.8 billion worth of cuts to higher education.”
James Mangan, from the Burnett Business Centre at Nanango, said regional taxpayers had enjoyed a “double win” in Mr Hockey’s announcements.
“Firstly, the withdrawal of a proposed cap on deductible work-related education expenses will allow tradesmen and professionals in the South Burnett who travel for study purposes to claim all their travel expenses,” he said.
“In the South Burnett, we are often forced to travel long distances to access appropriate training, and often are forced to pay for accommodation and other expenses that mean keeping up-to-date can be a costly exercise.
“This change will help locals improve their qualifications and skills, and will improve their employability and earning capacity. It will also increase their productivity and has the potential to bring new ideas into the region that will benefit employers and the region as a whole.”
Mr Mangan said the Federal Treasurer has also announced a change is to retain the statutory formula method of calculating private use of an employee’s motor vehicle for Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) purposes.
“This can allow locals to increase their take home pay, without any substantial cost to their employer, by giving greater flexibility to include motor vehicles in pay packets,” Mr Mangan said.
“Employers have the opportunity to retain quality staff, and attract talent to the South Burnett, with flexible remuneration packages.
“There have been recent reports that new car sales in October had fallen from the same month last year, which was the biggest monthly fall in 20 months. We could only guess at how many cars were not being purchased at local dealers because of the previous announcement and welcome this decision.”
