2020-21 Budget highlights for CMEs

07 October 2020

Digital Business Plan

• Co-ops registered under state and territory legislation will fail to benefit from the Government’s efforts to reduce the regulatory burden on business via a $420 million program to amalgamate the Australian Business Register and the 31 registers administered by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. This measure, partly drawing on earlier funding, is designed to allow businesses to quickly view, update and maintain their business registry data in one location. BCCM will continue to raise this issue with the Federal Government to ensure co-ops do not suffer from a digital divide.

Fringe Benefits Tax

• Eligibility cap for Fringe Benefits Tax concessions lifted from $10 million annual turnover to $50 million.
• Businesses exempt from paying 47 per cent FBT on expenses such as parking and electronics

Job Maker Plan

• The Government will provide $4 billion over three years from 2020-21 to accelerate employment growth by supporting organisations to take on additional employees through a hiring credit.

Apprentice subsidies 

• CMEs have shown themselves to be willing and able to create new, sustainable jobs and provide training and career opportunities to school leavers. $1.2 billion in wage subsidies have been announced for 100,000 new apprentices over a year.

Tax loss carry-backs

• Corporate tax entities with an aggregated turnover of less than $5 billion can apply tax losses against taxed profits in a previous year, generating a refundable tax offset in the year in which the loss is made.

Temporary Full Expensing 

• The Government will support businesses with aggregated annual turnover of less than $5 billion by enabling them to deduct the full cost of eligible capital assets acquired from 7:30pm AEDT on 6 October 2020 (Budget night) and first used or installed by 30 June 2022

Agriculture and Regional Development

• Extending the International Air Freight Mechanism until 30 June 2021.
• $17.4 million in relocation assistance and $16.3 million to incentivise young Australians to take up farm work
• $86 million over four years to establish eight Drought Resilience and Adoption Hubs that support networks of researchers, farmers, agricultural business and community groups to enhance drought resilience practice, tools and technology
• $100 million for new Regional Recovery Partnerships (projects in areas hit by drought, bushfires and coronavirus)
• $200 million for an additional round of the Building Better Regions Fund, with $100 million focused on regional tourism
• $50 million extra in rebates for farmers seeking to put in bores and dams
• $62 million over two years from 2020-21 to establish a Local Jobs Program to coordinate employment and training solutions at a local level in 25 regions across Australia.
• $51 million to assist regions heavily reliant on international tourism by stimulating tourism business recovery and tourism job retention and creation in regional Australia.

Modern Manufacturing Strategy 

• The Federal Government has announced $1.5 billon to deliver a Modern Manufacturing strategy. Priority areas include resources and critical minerals; food and beverages; medical products; recycling and clean energy; defence and space. Collaboration and the integration smaller businesses to scale and access global markets is identified as an important component of the strategy. Industry will be engaged to develop tailored roadmaps for each priority sector and BCCM looks forward to participating in this process.

Banking and Housing

• 20 mutual banks (including 15 BCCM Members) on the Federal Government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) panel of lenders will benefit from the scheme’s expansion. The Government has announced an extra 10,000 allocations of the guarantee.
• Increasing the NHFIC cap on total guaranteed liabilities to $3 billion.

Health, Health Insurance and Care

• $111.6 million for the extension of temporary COVID-19 telehealth services
• $1.6 billion for an additional 23,000 home care packages across all package levels.
• Funding to facilitate co-operation across the care and support sector by broadening the scope of the Boosting the Local Care Workforce program and extending it to 30 June 2023.
• Increasing the maximum age of dependants allowed under Private Health Insurance policies from 24 years to 31 years and removing the age limit for dependants with a disability.

Energy 

• $95.4 million over six years to create a co-investment fund that supports industrial, freight and agricultural businesses to identify and adopt technologies to reduce emissions and increase productivity.
• $67.1 million over six years to expand the Regional and Remote Communities Reliability Fund to support pilot studies for microgrids in regional and remote areas.
• $74.5 million over four years from 2020-21 to create the Future Fuels Fund including for developing improved information on electric vehicles and charging infrastructure

Additional Resources

For more information about budget announcements please refer to Budget Paper No.2

If you would like any further information please contact Anthony Taylor