If the resources super profits tax (RSPT) debacle taught vested interests anything, it was that if they got organised and lobbied hard against reform, there is a good chance that the Government would buckle under pressure and back-down.
And so it goes for the proposed changes to Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT), with the salary packaging industry – amongst the hardest hit by the reforms – establishing a $10 million-plus fund aimed at overturning the announced changes.
“What form that takes hasn’t been finalised but we have a substantial fighting fund,” Australian Salary Packaging Industry Association president Leigh Penberthy said on Sunday.
“The campaign will probably be multifaceted; not just advertising but using all forms of media, including social media,” he said.
The association has co-ordinated the campaign, gathering support from across the industry.
He would not reveal donors.
So far, the Government has held firm in the face of industry opposition, sticking with its view that the reforms are necessary to improve equity in the tax system and raise revenue. Let’s hope they stand tall against this organised hijacking of the commons.
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