Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank senators who have contributed to this debate today. Schedule 1 of the Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 2) Bill 2022 makes it easier for businesses to understand their record-keeping obligations. If a business is genuinely struggling to keep appropriate tax records, the Commissioner of Taxation will be allowed to offer them a choice to undertake a record-keeping course rather than paying financial penalties. The commissioner cannot offer this course to businesses that are disengaged with the tax system or deliberately avoiding their obligations.

Schedule 2 of the bill extends existing third-party reporting requirements to operators of electronic platforms in the sharing economy. Platform operators will be required to report information regarding certain transactions and payment details to the ATO. This information will assist the ATO in its administration of the tax system and ensure sellers on these platforms are meeting their tax obligations.

Schedule 3 of the bill reduces compliance costs for individuals claiming self-education deductions by removing the exclusion of the first $250 of deductions for prescribed courses of education.

Schedule 4 of the bill allows small businesses to seek orders from the AAT that stay or otherwise affect ATO debt-recovery actions while the small business is disputing the underlying tax assessment in the small-business tax division of the AAT. Applying to the AAT instead of the courts will save small businesses money in court and legal fees and as much as 60 days of waiting for a decision. These orders will be subjected to integrity checks intended to prevent aggressive taxpayers without genuine disputes from receiving stay orders sought with the intention of frustrating the recovery of genuine tax debts.

Schedule 5 of the bill expands eligibility for those aged 55 years and over to make downsizer contributions into superannuation. This will allow more Australians to consider downsizing to a home that better suits their needs, thereby increasing the availability of suitable housing for Australian families. I commend the bill to the Senate.

Bill read a second time.