Fringe Benefits Tax Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 4)

Overview

The Fringe Benefits Tax Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 4) were enacted to address a gap in the reporting requirements for fringe benefits, specifically regarding the travel between home and work in a marked emergency vehicle. The regulations amend the Fringe Benefits Tax Regulations 1992 to exclude this particular benefit from being reported on an employee's group certificate, aligning with the policy objective of the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986. This Act mandates that employers report fringe benefits on group certificates but identifies certain fringe benefits that do not need to be reported, known as 'excluded fringe benefits'. The newly introduced regulation, subregulation 3B(5A), now includes travel between home and work in a marked emergency vehicle as an excluded benefit, ensuring it is not subject to fringe benefits tax reporting. This legislative change was issued by the authority of the Assistant Treasurer and commenced upon gazettal, applying to group certificates issued for the year of income ended 30 June 2000 and subsequent years.

Scope and Application

The Fringe Benefits Tax Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 4) were issued under the authority of the Assistant Treasurer to amend the Fringe Benefits Tax Regulations 1992 in response to a specific policy decision by the government. This amendment seeks to exclude travel between an employee's home and their place of employment in a marked emergency vehicle from being reported on an employee's group certificate. The Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 establishes that the Governor-General can enact regulations to give effect to the Act, and these regulations have been made to exclude certain fringe benefits from being reported, thereby reducing the administrative burden on employers and employees. The exclusion applies to emergency vehicles that are used by ambulance, firefighting, or police services and are visibly marked for that purpose, as well as being fitted with flashing warning lights and sirens. These changes mean that fringe benefits tax will not be applied to such travel, thus removing it from consideration in determining the individual's liability for tax surcharges, other obligations, or eligibility for government payments and concessions. The regulations apply to group certificates issued for the year of income ended 30 June 2000 and subsequent years.

Key Provisions

The Fringe Benefits Tax Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 4) primarily amend the Fringe Benefits Tax Regulations 1992 to introduce a new exclusion from fringe benefits tax (FBT) reporting. Specifically, subregulation 3B(5A) now provides that the benefit arising from an employee's use of a car for travel between their home and their place of employment, when the car is a marked emergency vehicle, is to be treated as an excluded fringe benefit (sections 1 and 3B). This exclusion applies to vehicles that are visibly marked for use by an ambulance service, a firefighting service, or a police service, and are fitted with flashing warning lights and sirens (subsection 7(2A)). As a result, employers are no longer required to report such benefits on group certificates. These regulations impose specific obligations on employers regarding the reporting of fringe benefits. Employers must ensure that they do not include the specified benefit arising from the use of marked emergency vehicles for travel between an employee's home and workplace on the group certificates issued to their employees. This requirement aligns with the broader obligation under the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 for employers to report certain fringe benefits on group certificates. However, with the new exclusion, employers are exempt from reporting the travel benefit in question. The Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 and the Fringe Benefits Tax Regulations 1992 contain provisions that outline the consequences for non-compliance with reporting requirements. While the explanatory statement does not explicitly detail penalties for non-compliance with the new exclusion, it is reasonable to infer that failure to adhere to the reporting requirements could lead to penalties under the general provisions of the Act. The Act provides for penalties, including fines and imprisonment, for non-compliance with reporting obligations. The specific penalties for incorrect reporting would depend on the nature and extent of the non-compliance, and could include fines of up to $2,100 per offence, with additional penalties for persistent or serious non-compliance.