Government scraps proposed cap on self-education
On 6 November 2013, the Treasurer, the Hon Joe Hockey MP, and the Assistant Treasurer, Senator the Hon Arthur Sinodinos AO, announced the former government’s proposal of a $2,000 cap on tax deductions for self-education expenses will be scrapped. Taxpayers will continue to deduct expenses according to the current rules, including textbooks as well as training and education courses.
Associations Forum welcomed this announcement. “The Treasurer’s quick action on this poor policy has saved associations, the public service, the Government and the parliament countless hours of wasted time if we had had to continue our lobby campaign” says Denys Correll, Client Service Manager at Associations Forum. “Through the strong leadership of General Practice Registrars Australia and Universities Australia in forming the Scrap the Cap alliance, this unfair and counter-productive imposition has been defeated” said Mr Correll.
Mr Amit Vohra, General Practice Registrars Australia CEO said, “We welcome Treasurer Joe Hockey’s announcement to #ScrapTheCap. The $2000 cap on self-education expenses was an ill conceived hastily put together tax on learning that had broad implications for Australia’s productivity. We commend the Coalition for reviewing this policy swiftly and abolishing it within their first 100 days.” Associations Forum recognises that a key reason for the campaign's success was the contribution of the many members who made submissions to both Associations Forum and The Treasury.
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