Among the many unintended consequences of COVID-19, businesses that provide cars to their employees may now be on the hook for more FBT. Under the FBT regime, where an employee garages a work car at home, the business is deemed to be providing a car fringe benefit. However, with most people still working from home, the ATO notes that this could create unreasonable consequences for businesses. As such, it has outlined certain conditions where it will accept that a business is not holding the car for the purpose of providing fringe benefits to an employee.

The government has handed down its big spending budget in a bid to revive the economy. In terms of individuals, as expected, the government has confirmed that it will bring forward and backdate the previously legislated tax cuts by 2 years. Other measures include retaining the existing low and middle income offset, bringing forward the new low income tax offset (as a consequence of bringing forward the tax cuts), CGT exemptions for granny flats in certain circumstances, and cash payments for some income support recipients.

On Tuesday, 6 October 2020, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg handed down the 2020–2021 Federal Budget. He said the Budget was “all about jobs” (including creating new jobs and getting the unemployed back into work again) and getting the economy moving again. The Treasurer said that COVID-19 will see the deficit reach $213.7 billion this year, falling to $66.9 billion by 2023–2024. This Budget expands the Government’s 10-year infrastructure pipeline and, on personal taxation, confirms that the previously legislated Stage 2 tax cuts will be brought forward by two years, from 1 July 2022 to 1 July 2020.