✦ Plain-English Summary

Treasury Laws Amendment (2020 Measures No. 6) Bill 2020

What it does

This bill is a mixed bag of tax, competition and charity law changes bundled together. The main parts let businesses claim faster tax deductions for equipment purchases, update rules around how companies share customer data, encourage charities to join the national redress scheme for abuse survivors, and clean up outdated laws that are no longer needed.

Why it matters

The equipment tax breaks are designed to boost business investment during the pandemic, while the data-sharing changes aim to give consumers more control over their financial information. The charity incentives could help more survivors of institutional abuse access compensation.

Key details

• Equipment tax break: Businesses can immediately deduct the full cost of new plant and equipment (normally spread over years) — this applies to assets bought between specific dates during 2020
• Charity redress scheme: Charities that join the national scheme to compensate abuse survivors get tax exemptions on related payments, removing a financial barrier to participation
• Cleaning house: The bill repeals 17 old laws that are completely obsolete (like the 1930 Census Act and 1975 Trade Practices Act), simplifying the statute book

Official Description

Amends: the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 to: provide an alternative mechanism to the existing test for working out if the $5 billion threshold applies to qualify for the temporary full expensing concession; enable entities to opt out of temporary full expensing and the backing business investment incentives on an asset-by-asset basis; and make a minor clarification to the operation of the temporary loss carry back provisions; the Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 to make a minor technical correction; the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to: reallocate the responsibility for conducting sectoral assessments and making consumer data rules; and make miscellaneous amendments in relation to the consumer data right regime; the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 to provide that an entity is not a basic religious charity if the entity has been identified as being responsible for past institutional child sexual abuse and it has not participated in the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse; and 17 Acts in the Treasury portfolio to make minor and technical amendments. Also repeals 18 Acts in the Treasury portfolio.

Committee Referrals

Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

No votes yet.

No votes were recorded for this bill.