Higher for longer, Shadow Treasurer promises
The Coalition will make the instant asset write-off permanent if elected into power, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor (pictured, centre, at Tribe Breweries) confirmed during today’s Sky News economic debate.
Answering a question on business taxes from Rohan Mead, chief executive of insurance group Australian Unity, Taylor said: “We have absolutely no plans to impose taxes on Australian businesses like yours, and I think that it is essential that we bring taxes down, not raise them…
“That’s why we’ll raise the threshold for the instant asset write-off for small businesses and we’ll make it permanent.”
The instant asset write-off allows businesses to purchase equipment and then deduct the cost from its taxable profit. It was scheduled to revert back to the $1,000 threshold from 1 July, leading SMEs scrambling to take advantage of the write-off before the deadline.
However, Labor Treasurer Jim Chalmers has since committed to extending the write off for another year, a policy recently described by Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar as “underwhelming”.
Brokers have welcomed the opposition’s plans to permanently increase the threshold to $30,000.
Anja Pannek, chief executive of the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFA) said in March: “The permanency of the instant asset write-off is something we called for in our pre-budget submission to give certainty to our members in the commercial and asset finance space and to their clients as well.”
