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The firm will allow employees at all salary levels to sacrifice for an electric vehicle and benefit from the government's FBT exemptions.
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Bentleys Tasmania races to embrace FBT exemptions for EVs
13 January 2023
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The Tasmanian practice of accounting firm Bentleys will allow staff at all levels, including undergraduates and graduates, to salary sacrifice for an electric vehicle and benefit from a recently introduced FBT exemption.
Bentleys Tasmania managing director Robin Allardice said the firm was looking to go greener and enabling staff to drive EVs was just another step.
“We’re going environmental, we’re trying to get into carbon accounting and do more,” said Mr Allardice.
“So we want to live what we are doing, and we want to give the staff opportunities to do so also.”
“We are a service business, so our carbon emissions are mostly related to our team’s activity such as transport and vehicle emissions. By switching to EVs, we can make a big difference to our own carbon footprint.”
Mr Allardice said the uptake of EVs particularly made sense in Tasmania as creating the state’s electricity produces very little carbon.
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“Tasmania is one of the first places in the world that the scientific community have recognised to have achieved negative carbon. As a Tasmanian business we are inspired to do our bit to keep building on this achievement.”
“There’s no better place in Australia than Tasmania to be using electric cars because our electricity doesn’t create very much carbon to produce it, whereas burning coal to put into an electric car the benefit that you’re providing the environment isn’t as great as doing it down here.”
While many businesses have offered salary sacrificing a vehicle to senior members, Mr Allardice said the firm was keen to support staff of all levels and if it meant they were happy at the firm and boosted retention, and possibly attract new employees, that would be a bonus.
“In a lot of businesses like ours, salary sacrificing arrangements for vehicles are only available to those at senior levels,” he said.
“We want our whole team to be a part of our commitment to carbon reduction, so we are providing everyone — including undergraduates, support staff and bookkeepers — with the opportunity to salary sacrifice an EV.”
Mr Allardice said he would love to see all of the approximately 50 staff at Bentleys Tasmania driving EVs with the initiative warmly welcomed in particular by younger employees.
“A number of our younger team members are pretty excited about the idea of getting behind the wheel of an EV,” he said.
“They’re the ones which are probably more focused on this type of stuff than us older people as they’re coming out of school, eyes wide open seeing what’s happening to the planet.”
One of the employees excited by the initiative was an undergraduate accountant at Bentleys Tasmania, Ali Badenach.
“I’d love to own an EV, it is definitely the way of the future,” said Ms Badenach.
“This kind of employer support, plus government initiatives, is a great way to make it achievable for people just starting out in their careers.”
Mr Allardice also confirmed that the program was likely to run through novated leases so that if an employee did leave, the firm was not left with a vehicle they did not want while also providing staff with all the ownership rights to the car.
“The recent legislation on FBT exemption for EVs makes this a win all around — our employees can acquire an EV, save on tax and reduce their carbon emissions and, as a business, we can actively support carbon neutrality,” he said.
“I hope that more businesses — not just in Tasmania, but all across Australia — also offer this opportunity to staff at every level.”
“More EVs on the road means less emissions — so we should be encouraging everyone to be a part of that change.”
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