Aussie commercial broadcasters get pre-election tax boost from government
Australian commercial broadcasters have been handed a one-year suspension from paying broadcasting tax, under concessions made by the national government.
Bridget Fair
The costs savings are estimated to be worth A$50.3m (US$31.35m) annually to the networks and are part of a raft of measures for the screen industry included in the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (MYEF) handed down this week by the Australian government.
Free TV chief Bridget Fair welcomed the move, which free-to-air networks have been pushing to abolish for several years, but has called for its permanent cessation.
“The Commercial Broadcasting Tax (CBT) is really just a hangover from the old super-profits tax of the past. It is well and truly time for it to be permanently abolished. The tax disproportionately affects regional broadcasters who need more transmitters to broadcast to regional and remote areas. It undermines the ability of all broadcasters to compete fairly with digital platforms and global streamers, who do not face the same tax or regulatory obligations, yet compete with and sell advertising against commercial broadcasters,” Fair argued.
She added that in light of the mooted review of broadcast spectrum bands, the time was right to liberate the onerous tax burden for the networks.
Fair asserts that if the CBT is removed, broadcasters could redirect the funds, “to creating the Australian content they are regulated to provide and towards maintaining broadcast infrastructure, to ensure free TV remains available to all Australians.”
Elsewhere in the MYEF package, Australia and international producers were also given some ballast from the government, which confirmed that it would officially revert the minimum expenditure threshold for the location offset to A$15m of qualifying Australian production expenditure for eligible productions that commenced principal photography or production on or after July 1, 2023.
The measure is expected to help attract local and global productions with budgets of A$15m and over, increasing economic, employment and skill development opportunities for creatives and small to medium-screen businesses.
Screen Producers Australia has long argued for the reduction in the threshold from A$20 to A$15m as it allows for “a broader range of footloose projects to access support for filming in Australia.”
Earlier in the week, the government pledged to legislate five-year funding terms for the state-owned broadcasters the ABC and SBS in addition to handing the ABC A$83.1m over two years from 2026-27. This new funding will be followed by an ongoing increase of A$43m per year.
