Australia, March 29, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced the 2022 Federal Budget. The popularly known as the pre-election budget is seen as the government’s attempt to address the surging cost-of-living concerns of the Australians in the face of war in Europe, global pandemic and devasting floods in some states in Australia.
Frydenberg remarked, “A strong economy means a stronger budget. We are building an even stronger, more secure and confident Australia where aspiration and enterprise are encouraged and rewarded, and families have greater flexibility and choice. ”
These are the areas expected to benefit from the budget.
To help with the increasing cost of living, low- and middle-income earners will receive an extra $420 back on their tax returns. The government’s low and middle tax offset is also back for another year, meaning that some people may get up to $1,500 back at tax time.
Pensioners, carers, veterans, job seekers and other eligible concession cardholders, plus some self-funded retirees, will receive a one-off payment of $250.
Another $1.3 billion will be spent tackling violence against women and children in this budget. The new spending is on front-line services, emergency accommodation, access to legal advice and more.
There’s also been a big shake-up for the government’s Paid Parental Leave (PPL) scheme. Instead of offering two separate payments — two weeks of “Dad and Partner Pay” and 18 weeks of “Parental Leave Pay” — the two will now be combined, meaning parents can choose to split the leave between them in whatever way they’d like.
According to the Prime Minister, the federal budget even encourages more women from ethnic backgrounds to enter the workforce and creates more economic opportunities from them.
”It gives them choice, it gives their families choice and enables them to plan for their future with confidence,” Mr Morrison said during the conference.
Small business owners will receive a $120 tax deduction for every $100 they spend on training their staff. The same deduction will also apply to investments in cloud computing, eInvoicing, cybersecurity and web design – up to a maximum of $100,000 per year.
Mr Morrison said that the support for small businesses in this budget is significant. “Australia is one of the most successful multicultural nations on earth and one of the reasons for that I think is because of the high level of entrepreneurism that exists in the many migrant communities….we are helping small businesses be successful in the post COVID economy,” he told multicultural media this morning.
“Australia is in a strong position to capitalise in the opportunities that are ahead and the many ethic communities across Australia will be in the engine of that.”
The fuel tax excise will be cut in half to 22.1 cents per litre for six months. The change comes into effect from midnight on Tuesday night and the competition watchdog will police it.
The number of people able to access the Home Guarantee Scheme will double to 50,000 places per year. That scheme, designed to help more people buy their first home, lets people put down a deposit of just five per cent, or two per cent for single parents.
NSW Commuters to Receive 12 Fare-Free Days over the Easter Holiday Period
