Submission on the FBT reform: Living-away-from-home benefits consultation paper

On 15 February 2012, the Institute lodged a submission on the consultation paper, Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) Reform: Living-away-from-home benefits. The consultation paper sets out the design of the range of amendments aimed at limiting the access to the Living-away-from-home (LAFH) tax exemption which were announced in the 2011-12 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

In our submission, we outlined various concerns with the design of the proposed new law including:

• The need for appropriate transitional arrangements generally rather than focusing on the community sector and specific circumstances 
• The impact of the proposed reforms on Australian businesses’ ability to attract skilled migrants to meet skill shortages 
• The negative impact on the Australian economy as a result of less spending by temporary residents, increased costs for Australian businesses and decreased demand in the medium to high end rental market 
• Problems with implementing the new law due to the short time frame between the legislation being released and the effective date of 1 July 2012 
• Problems with interactions with other areas of tax law.
  

Article last Updated 23 April 2012