The Government is proposing to cut tax deductions for non-compulsory work uniforms in order to save the federal budget $30 million annually. In the 2013-14 Financial Year 492,000 taxpayers claimed $104 million in non-compulsory work clothing expenses, at an average of $211 each. For employees whose staff wear non-compulsory uniforms a tax deduction for expenses they incur to rent, purchase or maintain non-compulsory corporate uniform.
Rules currently specify that employees can only claim a tax deduction for non-compulsory uniform expenses, where employers have the uniform designs approved and entered on the Register of Approved Occupational Clothing (RAOC) by the Secretary of the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. Cutting non-compulsory uniform deductions will save the RAOC $100,000 annually in administration costs. This is not the first time the government has tried to cut tax deduction with the Turnbull government failing to pass a proposal to cut all work-related deduction by replacing them with lower tax rates when it failed to result in a lower personal tax rate for all. Tax deduction rulings are yet to be changed as the government investigates concerns that the current approach may be causing unnecessary regulatory burden and costs on businesses.
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