Federal budget 2022: Cairns finance experts analyse cost of living measures
Far Northern finance experts have weighed in on how effective the federal government’s cost of living relief measures really will be. READ THEIR ANALYSIS
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THOUSANDS of Far Northerners are expected to benefit from the federal government’s cost of living measures included in the budget, but local finance experts are unsure how effective those cuts will be realistically.
An estimated 72,000 Far North taxpayers are set to receive an additional $420 tax break under the cost of living offset and an expected 89,000 passenger vehicle owners will save 22c per litre while fuelling up.
BDO Cairns business services division partner Joanne Johnston said the cost of living relief was welcomed, but lacked a long-term view.
“The cost of living, you just can’t see it going down after these one-off incentives,” Ms Johnston said.
“It’s not looking at a longer-term view, fuel, the cost of power, it’s all going up.”
Ms Johnston said the accounting industry had long been calling for “meaningful” tax reform to identify which areas of tax law could be looked at to create targeted long-term relief.
“Out of a tax reform you’d get a lot of new measures that have a longer-term impact rather than short and sharp one-off incentives,” she said.
Ms Johnston said the 22c per litre cut to fuel was welcomed, but hoped between now and the federal election, there would be a more targeted incentive introduced to areas that did not have the option of public transport, or had to commute long distances.
“When we fill up $2.30 for diesel, I can’t imagine what people in our rural and remote communities are thinking.
“We are more exposed due to the distances we have to travel.”
However, Cairns senior financial adviser at Kelly Wealth Services Dave Haydon said the budget struck the right balance between offering incentives and strengthening the economy.
Mr Haydon said locals needed to be patient for long-term opportunities and wealth building from the government’s investments in skills and small business.
“There’s always a desire for more (cuts), but I think what will help family budgets is really growing the economy, than more cuts,” he said.
“Investments in upskilling, apprentices, business training and digital technology will help people get new jobs, higher wages and push the economy along.
“With the fuel excise, simple economics will kick in. At the moment there’s a limited supply due to the Russian conflict, once the supply returns to normal, the demand wouldn’t have changed too much, so I think that’s a reasonable temporary measure.”
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Originally published as Federal budget 2022: Cairns finance experts analyse cost of living measures
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