Your next holiday could be tax deductible: Radical plan to give all households ‘$10,000 to spend solely on TRAVELLING’
- Businessman suggests radical plan to encourage Australians to holiday
- Barry Robinson urged the Australian government to offer households deduction
- The incentive could be used solely on travel and accommodation, he said
- Mr Robinson said it would provide a big boost to the struggling travel industry
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
A radical new plan could see all Australian households given a $10,000 tax deduction to spend solely on travel.
In a creative bid to revive the country’s flagging tourism industry, businessman Barry Robinson, the boss of Gold Coast-based accommodation giant Wyndham, has suggested the Federal Government take bold steps to save businesses from coronavirus devastation.
Mr Robinson urged the Federal Government to offer all households tax deductions for spending on accommodation and flights over the next financial year.
The businessman said the plan would give the tourism industry a massive boost and encourage Australians to spend, amid signs state borders may come down in the next month or so.
The tax incentive scheme was put forward by Barry Robinson (pictured), who is the boss of the Gold Coast-based accommodation company, Wyndham
Mr Robinson has urged the Federal Government to offer households the tax deduction money for next financial year for spending on accommodation and flights
‘If we gave them a tax break that they could claim back on allocated receipts for domestic travel, then I think that would definitely stimulate people to at least think about holidaying and more than likely acting upon it,’ Mr Robinson told Gold Coast Bulletin.
Mr Robinson told the regional newspaper if only 10 per cent of Australian households took advantage of his proposed tax incentive, it would inject $9.2 billion in tourism spending into the market and stimulate the economy as a whole.
Though he believes his plan would be of great help to the tourism industry, Mr Robinson admitted the Government might not sign off on such a radical plan that would cut deeply into the budget bottom line.
‘But at the moment with the amount being spent (on stimulus measures), it’s probably not really a major worry to spend another $10 billion if that is going to get an economy going,’ he said.
He said it would give the tourism industry a massive boost and encourage Australians to travel as it struggles with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic
Mr Robinson said if only 10 per cent of Australian households took advantage of the tax incentive, it would inject $9.2billion into tourism spending
With international borders closed for the foreseeable future due to coronavirus, the federal government is encouraging Australians to holiday at home and keep one of the major drivers of the economy alive.
Tourism, which employs one in 13 Australians, has been one of the hardest-hit sectors as non-essential travel had been banned to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus which has claimed 99 lives across the country.
But a major obstacles for the industry is the ban on interstate visitors enforced by all states bar New South Wales and Victoria and the fear of a second coronavirus wave occurring.