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Expect them within weeks of next Parliament, says Stuart Robert.
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Budget measures ‘top priority’: Minister
11 April 2022
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Training and technology incentives in the budget will be a top priority of the next Parliament and accountants will be among the chief beneficiaries, said the minister for small business.
He says bipartisan support means the budget measures, which give 120 per cent deductions for spending on skills and digital uptake by small businesses, should be passed within two weeks.
The minister for small and family business, Stuart Robert, speaking on a CPA Australia podcast late last week, said the skills incentive would especially help accountants train recruits and encourage businesses to seek deductible advice.
“That’s the whole purpose of those two skilling and digital measures, is to encourage businesses, especially small businesses, to go and seek advice, start with your accountant, look at the training opportunities that are available,” he said.
“All of that advice is tax deductible. And if you work through and pick up those accountancy training courses, especially, more so than legal training courses, the accountancy training courses, that’s where the 120 per cent tax deduction is brilliant.
“Many professionals don’t need another university course. They need a micro‑credential. They need a short course. They need a tax course operated by or offered by CPAs, or they need a compliance course, or a framework, or ethics.
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“And all of these are the micro‑credentials that we really want to see professionals take up and use. And we want to see a lot of the training provided by CPA and other great organisations to be brought into the training mix as accredited training.”
Mr Roberts also acknowledged the vital role played by accountants over the past two years of covid and natural disasters.
“[I’m] super pleased with what our accounting profession does. And I just want to say thank you for all the efforts,” Mr Roberts said.
And he confirmed that thanks to bipartisan support, the ATO would be working on the budget skills and tech incentive measures with a view to rapid legislation.
“The tax office generally takes a view that if there is a bipartisan support and it’s announced, that it will be accepted and it will be understood,” he said.
“So, yes, all Budget measures get priority. They generally come under the form of tax law amendment bills, TLAB bills. And they’re always the priority. They get a T status, which is the Treasury status, of course, which indicates they must be passed within a sitting fortnight. So you can expect that to move very quickly.”
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