FBT and the proposed changes: the fallout.
Although it has yet to be put to the proper decision makers, Kevin Rudd’s proposed changes to the Fringe Benefit Tax have already affected companies that would normally be purchasing cars for their fleet customers. Unfortunately, there’s a human cost too, with Fleetcare having to stand down around twenty staff as their orders have dropped to virtually zero. Another company, based in Perth, Fleet Network, have also removed twenty staff whilst South Melbourne based salary packaging group, NLC, have shed seventy five people and McMillan Shakespeare, a major salary sacrificing has also placed on hold a core aspect of its business.
Part of the issue is the proposal to backdate the changes, causing companies to pause their fleet purchases, such as a major Sydney based university has been forced to do. It also adds to the parlous state of affairs the local car makers have; with 35% of fleet cars made locally, the current situation has the potential to potentially hasten Holden’s local manufacturing closure whilst it negotiates for more funding to keep its manufacturing operations underway.
Driver Distractions They Can't Ban
When the traffic safety boffins talk about driver distraction, they’re usually talking about the perils of texting while driving. And they’re pretty much right. I guess we’ve all seen people having near misses because they’ve had their eyes on the phone rather than on the road. Saw one on a main road the other day just about crossing the centre line and frantically correcting before having a close encounter with an oncoming car.
Fringe Benefit Tax Changes: How It COULD Affect YOU.
Disclaimer: this is not intended to be taken as financial or taxation advice. Please see your accountant.
As if Australia’s flailing car industry didn’t have enough to worry about, the Labor Government’s proposed changes to Fringe Benefit Tax and the Carbon Tax have sent a chill wind through their offices as figures show that a potential extra cost of around $1400 per year per vehicle could stop the car lease industry in its tracks.
CarTech: What Does This Mean?
Cars today, like most forms of modern technology, come with terms and names that can be bewildering to the casual observer. Yet a cars salesperson will rattle them of without explaining them or expecting you, the prospective buyer, to just “know” what it all means…
Something we’ve seen in cars for close to twenty years now, is this: SRS Airbag. By now we should all know what an airbag does (basically explodes a pillow from the steering wheel and other locations to provide a form of protection in an impact) however the other part of the name, SRS, is quite simple. Supplementary Restraint System; meaning it’s a backup to the two primary safety factors. One being you, the driver, being able to keep yourself out of trouble and the other is the engineering already built in.
Level 2, 9 Help Street