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HENRY REPORT - FBT RECOMMENDATIONS

Source: Henry Report; Stronger, Fairer, Simpler: A tax plan for our future; Prime Minister's and Treasurer's joint media release, 2 May 2010

On Sunday, 2 May 2010, the government released the final report of the Australia's Future Tax System review team (the Henry Report, as it has become known), together with its initial response. Although the Henry Report contains sweeping recommendations to reform Australia's tax system, the government has initially focused on the resources sector and superannuation. The company tax rate is also to be reduced and there are some benefits for small business.

From an FBT perspective, the following recommendations in the Henry Report (Recommendation 9) were neither accepted nor rejected by the government in its initial response:

• Fringe benefits that are readily valued and attributable to individual employees should be taxed in the hands of employees through the PAYG system. Other fringe benefits, including those incidental to an individual's employment, should remain taxed to employers at the top marginal rate (and non-reportable for employees);

• Market value should generally be used to value fringe benefits (with an appropriate adjustment for employee contributions);

• The current formula for valuing car fringe benefits should be replaced with a single statutory rate of 20%, regardless of the kilometers travelled; and

• All FBT exemptions should be reviewed to determine their continuing appropriateness.

The Prime Minister and the Treasurer said that these recommendations are not government policy, but will be the subject of much debate in the coming years.

One Henry Report recommendation (Recommendation 9(e)) that the government specifically rejected was the recommendation that tax concessions (including FBT concessions) for the not-for-profit sector be removed.

The Henry Report and the government's response, entitled Stronger, Fairer, Simpler: A tax plan for our future, is available on the Treasury's Future Tax Website.