Instant asset write off extended

The Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced today (June 9) that the Government will extend the $150,000 instant asset write off to the end of the year.

The write off, which was increased from $30,000 and expanded to more businesses in March, was due to end on June 30, 2020. The write off applies to both new and second hand assets.

Australian Trucking Association CEO Ben Maguire and Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia CEO Todd Hacking have both said that the extension of the instant asset write off will enable trucking businesses to invest in safer equipment and support the industry’s suppliers.

Mr Maguire said the write off extension would enable trucking businesses to invest in new trailers and some trucks, or even recent second-hand equipment with better safety technology than their existing fleet.

“The write off has already delivered an economic boost. With this six-month extension, I urge every trucking operator to consider if they could bring forward their next equipment purchase and take advantage of the tax benefits,” he said.

HVIA CEO Todd Hacking said the original June 30 deadline for the write off had been a real problem for heavy vehicle manufacturers and suppliers.

“Many businesses did not have time to act on the increased write off before the pandemic escalated and they had to focus on staying in business,” Mr Hacking said.

“In addition, much of the equipment we supply is tailored to an individual purchaser’s specifications. There just wasn’t time to do this before the June deadline.

“Now the industry can engage with our customers and really highlight the advantage of upgrading their equipment. This will go a long way to supporting HVIA members not only now but when JobKeeper ends in September,” he said.

Mr Maguire thanked the Government for listening to the industry’s views.

“The ATA and HVIA made two joint submissions on the instant asset write off to the Treasurer and had detailed discussions with Treasury officials. We want to thank the Government for listening to industry’s views and supporting continued investment,” Mr Maguire said.

According to the ABC, the Government said it could not provide information on how successful the expanded scheme had been in recent months because that information was gleaned from businesses' tax returns, which had not yet been filed.

"Hundreds of thousands of business have taken up the program in its previous format," Mr Frydenberg said.

"We will see that level of take-up once the end of the financial year arrives."

Without today's intervention, the scheme was set to shrink substantially next month, only allowing the writing off of assets worth less than $1000 by businesses earning less than $10 million per year.