THE Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee will hold a public hearing tomorrow as part of its Review of the Intelligence Oversight and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity Measures) Bill 2020.

The Committee will hear from Dr Kieran Hardy, Professor George Williams AO, the Law Council of Australia, the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, the Commonwealth Ombudsman, the Attorney-General’s Department and the Department of Home Affairs.

Further information on the inquiry can be obtained from the Committee’s website.

Public hearing details:

Thursday, 6 May 2021
10am - 3pm
Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra

A program for the hearing can be found here and the hearing will be broadcast live on the Parliament of Australia website

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INVESTMENT properties often contain tens of thousands of dollars worth of tax deductions that only a trained eye would detect, according to Australian provider of tax depreciation schedules, BMT Tax Depreciation.

Tax depreciation is the natural wear and tear of property and assets. It is one of the highest tax deductions available to property investors who can claim it for up to 40 years.

BMT Tax Depreciation CEO, Bradley Beer, said tax deductions could be concealed behind walls, in ceilings, under floors and on roofs. The combined value of these deductions can reach tens of thousands of dollars over their lifetimes and make a significant difference to a property investor’s bottom line.

Mr Beer said underfloor heating was an unseen depreciable asset that is quite often overlooked.

“It would be reasonable to expect a depreciation deduction of around $10,000 for underfloor heating for an average-sized house,” Mr Beer said.

The re-stumping of a home is a way to rectify settled stumps due to soil movement or damaged wood.

“Re-stumping is usually required for older properties and typically produces a depreciation deduction in the vicinity of $13,000,” Mr Beer said.

“Inconspicuous re-wiring and re-plumbing may also be required for an older property, or when a property has been damaged. These items could produce a total depreciation deduction of $16,000.

“It’s hidden deductions such as these that can produce valuable deductions in older properties. Even if the improvements were completed by a previous owner, the current owner can still claim them.

“There are also extra deductions for solar pool heating that’s usually tucked away on the roof. Solar pool heating typically produces a total depreciation deduction of around $7,000,” Mr Beer said.

It is also common for a rural property to have its own sewerage treatment assets and tanks, but these can easily go unnoticed as they are ‘out of sight, out of mind’.

“Underground sewerage treatment tanks and piping can produce a total depreciation deduction of $11,600,” he said.

Mr Beer explained that BMT’s expert staff complete physical site inspections to accurately identify both the obvious and obscure depreciable items.

“Almost every inch of a property is depreciable,” Mr Beer said. “But with such a large range, comes numerous complexities. We need to look at the property size and type, unique features, construction dates and the legislative requirements to ensure depreciation is claimed accurately. This is why a site inspection is so important.

“My key message to investors is to never rule out depreciation. Throw out the idea that your property might be too old or your haven’t owned it for long enough – these are simply myths. And as we can see, thousands of deductions can be found where you can’t see them.”

bmtqs.com.au

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AUSTRALIAN housing values lifted by 1.8 percent in April according to CoreLogic’s national home value index, with the monthly pace of capital gains easing from a 32-year high in March (2.8%). 

Although growth conditions have slowed, housing values are still rising at a rapid pace, up 6.8 percent over the past three months to be 10.2 percent higher than the COVID low in September last year.

CoreLogic’s research director, Tim Lawless, said the pace of capital gains could slow further over the coming months as inventory levels rise and affordability constraints dampen housing demand.

“The slowdown in housing value appreciation is unsurprising given the rapid rate of growth seen over the past six months, especially in the context of subdued wages growth," Mr Lawless said. "With housing prices rising faster than incomes, it’s likely price sensitive sectors of the market, such as first home buyers and lower income households, are finding it harder to save for a deposit and transactional costs.”

There is already some evidence of fewer first time buyers in the market, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics reporting a -4.0 percent fall in the value of first home buyer home loans through February, the first drop since May last year.

Despite the slowdown, positive housing market conditions remain geographically broad-based with every capital city and ‘rest-of-state’ region continuing to record a lift in dwelling values over the month. 

Darwin (2.7%) and Sydney (2.4%) recorded the largest month-on-month rise in dwelling values, while Perth values recorded the lowest rate of growth amongst the capital cities at 0.8%.

The four smallest capital cities recorded double digit annual growth (Adelaide 10.3%, Hobart 13.8%, Darwin 15.3% and Canberra 14.2%), reflecting a smaller COVID-related disruption and an earlier start to the growth phase last year.  Melbourne is recording the lowest level of annual growth (2.2%) due to a larger downturn, attributable to the extended lockdown period last year.

The broad trend of houses outperforming the unit sector continued through April as higher density styles of housing experienced less demand amidst elevated supply across some inner city precincts.  At the combined capital city level house values (8.6%) have risen at double the pace of unit values (4.3%) over the first four months of the year.

“A preference shift away from higher density housing during a global pandemic is understandable, however a rise in flexible working arrangements also seems to be supporting greater demand for houses around the outer-fringes of capital cities. Relatively weak investor activity, compounded by a supply overhang in some high-rise precincts, is also dampening price growth in unit markets,” Mr Lawless said.

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US PRESIDENT Joe Biden’s Leaders Summit last week revealed that climate action ambition is increasing and the timeframes for taking strong action are shortening, states the quarterly International Carbon Markets Briefing from the Carbon Market Institute (CMI). 

CEO of the CMI, John Connor said after years of a vague focus on 'low carbon economy' aspirations, discourse had shifted to 2050 net-zero emission goals and, importantly, the credibility of nations’ plans to get there, including their 2030 targets. 

“This scrutiny and momentum sets a precedent and expectation for what is to come in the next six months to COP26,” Mr Connor said.  “Between now and November there are more opportunities for strengthened targets to be announced, including at the UN General Assembly in September, the G20 Summit in October, and at CMI’s 8th Australasian Emissions Reduction Summit in June.”

According to the CMI briefing launched today, last week’s announcements now mean that over 50 percent of global GDP is aligned with an emissions reduction trajectory designed to keep average global warming to 1.5ºC and that 70 percdent of the global economy is now covered by a net zero target, including every G7 country.

However, Mr Connor warned that countries with similarly high levels of climate ambition were likely to develop improved terms of trade between them, disadvantaging those lagging behind. 

“With countries like Australia falling behind this increased ambition, investments in the just transition may end up unevenly distributed,” Mr Connor said. “That’s because those countries with concrete or legislated targets provide more assurance for clean economy investment opportunities.

“Strong global climate ambition and collaboration is driving better aid, trade and diplomatic relationships between these nations and will inevitably position them to be able to take more, and more immediate, advantage of opportunities. This mitigates risks to their economies and communities as the climate crisis deepens.”

The CMI welcomed the Australian Government’s announcement to fund development of Article 6 capacity building in the Indo-Pacific, saying it represents a clear and timely shift in policy towards more open and constructive engagement in international carbon markets.

“Regional engagement in international carbon market development is a critical step for Australia to play a more meaningful role in the region,” Mr Connor said.

“Australia has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the development of nature-based solutions and our decarbonisation and drawdown industries are very keen to engage in the challenge of international carbon markets, positioning our domestic industry for growth. 

“Australian business stands ready to engage, and we look forward to working with government on these developments.”

About CMI

The CMI is the independent industry association for business leading the transition to net zero emissions. Its members include primary producers, carbon project developers, Indigenous corporations, legal and advisory services, insurers, banks and emission intensive industries developing decarbonisation and offset strategies. The CMI's Quarterly International Climate Policy and Market Developments Briefing is a member-only publication. www.carbonmarketinstitute.org

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