ÿþ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/loose.dtd"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>2008&#8211;09 Commonwealth Budget - Overview</title> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="all" href="../../../_stylesheet/content.css"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="all" href="../../../_stylesheet/layout.css"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="all" href="../../../_stylesheet/overview.css"> </head> <body> <div id="body_container"> <div id="overview_inner"> <div id="overview_masthead"> <h1>... closes loopholes and<br />improves equity</h1> <p class="description"> The Budget confirms a number of tax changes that enhance tax fairness and productivity, by closing loopholes, encouraging better investment decisions, and getting a fairer return on Australia's non&#8209;renewable assets. Realigning excise on 'ready&#8209;to&#8209;drink' alcoholic beverages (RTDs) with full strength spirits is consistent with Government initiatives to reduce binge drinking. </p> </div> <div id="overview_body_inner"> <div id="overview_content"> <p class="page-nav"> <a href="overview_26.htm"><img src="../../../_image/page_previous.gif" alt="&lt; previous page" /></a> <a href="index.htm"><img src="../../../_image/page_toc.gif" alt="contents and downloads" /></a> <a href="overview_28.htm"><img src="../../../_image/page_next.gif" alt="next page &gt;" /></a> </p> <div id="content_columns"> <div class="overview_col"> <p class="subheading">Tax savings</p> <p>This Budget will reduce the drain on tax revenue from tax concessions by around $8.7 billion while promoting fairness.</p> <p>This builds on the Government's election commitments which produced tax savings of over $6 billion, including deferring tax cuts for high income earners and increasing Tax Office compliance work on high wealth individuals and large corporations.</p> <p class="subheading">Condensate production</p> <p>The Government will remove the crude oil excise exemption for condensate &#151; a light crude oil extracted from natural gas &#151; so that it is treated like crude oil.</p> </div> <div class="overview_col"> <p>This will increase the return to the community from extracting this non&#8209;renewable resource, without affecting fuel prices.</p> <p class="subheading">Better investment decisions</p> <p>The Government will remove tax concessions for some assets.</p> <p>The interest expense apportionment rules for capital protected borrowings will be changed to more accurately reflect the interest component.</p> <p>Capital expenditure on computer software will be depreciated over four years, the same period as computer hardware.</p> </div> <div class="overview_col"> <p class="subheading">'Ready&#8209;to&#8209;drink' beverages</p> <p>The Government is concerned about the growth in RTD consumption, particularly among teenagers, and has closed the loophole where the spirits in pre&#8209;mixed drinks were taxed at a lower rate than bottled spirits.</p> <p>By restoring the alignment between the rates of excise on RTDs and full&#8209;strength spirits, the Government is sending a clear price signal consistent with its other initiatives to reduce binge drinking. A proportion of this revenue will be redirected to preventative health through the National Health Prevention Strategy with the States.</p> </div> </div> <div class="graph_image_top"> <div> <div class="graph_img"> <img src="../image/BO27_01.gif" alt="Chart: Revenue gains from tightening tax expenditures in the 2008-09 Budget" /> </div> <div class="graph_text"> <p>Revenue gains from tightening tax expenditures in the 2008&#8209;09 Budget</p> </div> </div> </div> <p class="page-nav bottom_page"> <a href="overview_26.htm"><img src="../../../_image/page_previous.gif" alt="&lt; previous page" /></a> <a href="index.htm"><img src="../../../_image/page_toc.gif" alt="contents and downloads" /></a> <a href="overview_28.htm"><img src="../../../_image/page_next.gif" alt="next page &gt;" /></a> </p> </div> <div id="overview_footer"> <p id="footer_text"> <span id="footer_pageNum">27</span> <span id="footer_docTitle">2008-09 Budget <span class="orangeText">Overview</span></span> </p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </body> </html>