The Government today honoured its election commitment to introduce a child care tax rebate to help Australian families.
The measure is part of the Government's Tax Laws Amendment (2005 Measures No. 4) Bill 2005, introduced in Parliament today by Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, Mal Brough.
The child care tax rebate was announced in the Government's Extra Assistance for Families package during the 2004 election.
The rebate will provide additional child care assistance to around 640,000 families with a total cost of around $1 billion over four years. The rebate will cover 30 per cent of out-of-pocket child care expenses for approved care up to a maximum of $4,000 per child, for families who receive Child Care Benefit and meet the work/training/study test.
The ATO has sent out letters to all approved child care providers advising of the key features of the rebate, including information flyers for parents. Parents should keep their child care payment receipts or other records of payment. For more information, members of the public can call the ATO on 13 28 65 with their queries, or check the ATO website www.ato.gov.au.
This bill will also amend the taxation law to:
- create a scheme to allow New Zealand wine producers to claim the wine equalisation tax rebate on wine they export to Australia;
- add specifically listed deductible gift recipients approved by government, and
- amend the secrecy provisions in the income tax law, to allow the Australian Bureau of Statistics to obtain further taxation information.