Key Documents
On 2 October 2020, the Government announced that it will introduce an exemption from fringe benefits tax (FBT) for employer-provided retraining and reskilling benefits for redundant, or soon to be redundant, employees, where these benefits are not sufficiently connected to their current employment.
This measure will remove any disincentive in the FBT system to employers retraining redundant employees to help them transition to new employment opportunities. The exemption will not extend to retraining acquired by way of a salary packaging arrangement or to costs for which an income tax deduction is specifically denied, including Commonwealth supported places at universities or repayments towards Commonwealth student loans.
The Government is seeking stakeholder views on exposure draft legislation and explanatory materials for amendments that would give effect to this announcement.