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The potential impact of the Henry tax review on salary packaging is explained by our Senior Tax Adviser, Simon Ellis, in the following short video clip:
The long awaited Australia’s Future Tax System review (“the Henry review”) was published on 2 May, along with the Federal Government’s formal response to its recommendations.
The review contains proposals for wide-ranging reforms to almost all aspects of Australia’s taxation system, including several areas that have some limited potential to impact on salary packaging programs. The Government’s response effectively divides the Henry review’s recommendations into three categories:
- Recommendations that the Government will immediately adopt
- Recommendations that the Government will not immediately adopt, but will consider further in the medium to long term, and
- Recommendation that the Government specifically rejects and will not adopt.
This summary focuses on the key salary packaging recommendations contained in the Henry review and the Government’s response to those recommendations in order gauge any potential impact on Australia’s salary packaging environment:
| Henry review recommendation | Government’s response | Impact on Salary Packaging |
| Recommendation 9(b): The current formula for valuing car fringe benefits should be replaced with a singlestatutory rate of 20 per cent, regardless of the kilometres travelled. | Government will not immediately adopt, but will consider further in medium to longer term. | No immediate impact.If adopted in the medium to long term this recommendation will result in:
|
| Recommendation 9(e) and Recommendation 43
The FBT ‘threshold’ concessions for Public Hospitals and Not For Profits should be phased out |
Government specifically rejects and will not adopt. | No impact. This recommendation has been formally rejected and should not be introduced at any stage by the current Government. |
As well as what was covered by the recommendations in the Henry review it is relevant to note was what was not included:
| Items not included | Government’s response | Likely impact on Salary Packaging |
| The FBT concession for meal entertainment benefits provided by Public Hospitals and Not For Profits | No response, although potentially relevant that the Government has committed not to implement “any changes to the tax system that harm the not-for-profit sector, including removing the benefit of tax concessions . . .” | It remains possible that this concession will be changed in the upcoming budget, even though any reduction would appear to contradict the assurance outlined in the Government’s response to the Henry review. |
Other recommendations with some potential to impact salary packaging programs were included in the review’s findings but were not commented on in the Government’s formal response. These items, listed in the appendix to this summary, are unlikely to be picked up in the immediate term, but may be the subject of further discussion in the medium to long term.
Overall, while the recommendations of the Henry review have the potential to change Australia’s salary packaging landscape, the Government’s lukewarm response to most of them and outright rejection of others means that the impact on the salary packaging activities of Australian employers is likely to be minimal.
The Federal Budget is, however, due to be handed down on May 12 and there remains a possibility that other tax changes relevant to salary packaging, but not flagged within the review recommendations, will be included.
SmartSalary will be analysing the Budget outcomes in this regard and releasing further analysis at that time.
I hope the government realises that if they take away our salary packaging that there will be amass exodus of people from public hospitals….also with the meal allowance – if they remove that then less people will eat out and hence there will be an increase in the unemployment figures….public hospital staff members who presently use the meal allowance will be eating out less….at the end of the day if we spend less then more people work less in the hospitality industry….the labour government used to be for the workers….I am wondering what they stand for these days….