Federal Treasurer reverses proposed cap on self-education expenses.
The government has just confirmed that it will not proceed with the former administration’s proposed cap on tax deductions for work-related self education expenses.
The much-reviled proposal was feared to have a significant impact on continuing professional development, because it would have meant that attendance at conferences and educational events was no longer tax deductible after the first $2,000.
Treasurer Joe Hockey said the contentious cap was “flawed policy” which will now be dropped.
“Of the 174,000 taxpayers affected by Labor’s tax on self-education, 81% earn less than $80,000 a year,” he said.
“These are the people who are trying to invest in their own education to get ahead…it was flawed policy with no motivation other than a simple headline,” he said.
The Pharmacy Guild said the proposed measure was “contrary to the interests of a skilled workforce with the most up-to-date professional knowledge to assist in the treatment of patients”.
And the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, which joined with the Guild and many other groups in the ‘Scrap the Cap’ coalition, said the decision was recognition that it would have been “an unfair tax on a captive group of professionals who must by law complete continuing education to maintain their professional registration”.
The former Labor government had already deferred the measure until 2015 in the face of strong opposition from a wide range of professional groups and educational institutions.
More information in tomorrow’s Pharmacy Daily.
