The household assistance package; what is it? Who gets what and when? We answer all your HAP questions plus, you can’t escape it so you might as well embrace it – we’ve got ten handy facts that will set you straight on the carbon tax government rebates.
By Anna McDougall, The Money Maven
The rundown:
The government’s grand plan for a Clear Energy Future is around 500 of the biggest polluters in Australia paying for their pollution under the carbon pricing mechanism, which will be used to assist households to help meet price impacts, support jobs in the most affected industries and build a clean energy future. Thus the Household Assistance Package is born.
What Does the Package Include?
According to householdassistance.fahcsia.gov.au the HAP includes:
– An initial payment for families and parents, seniors and individuals receiving government payments, which was paid from May 2012
– Tripling of the tax free threshold to $18,200, which means tax cuts for all taxpayers earning under $80,000, from 1 July 2012 and
– permanent increases to regular government payments for families, seniors and individuals to commence from March 2013 to January 2014, depending on the payment type.
– Low-income households can also expect benefits starting this month with extra assistance extra support for eligible Australians relying on certain essential medical equipment or medically required heating/cooling at home.
The Tax Cuts:
As part of the Household Assistance Package, the tax free threshold increases from $6,000 to $18,200 from 1 July 2012
Individuals with a taxable income of less than $80,000 will receive a tax cut. Most will receive a tax cut of around $300 a year.
For more info head to https://householdassistance.fahcsia.gov.au/
It’s a big, bad world out there and with the influx this month of dollar signs and numbers and pluses and minuses it’s enough to make you want to cower under your pillow and hope it blows over!
But the carbon tax is here to say so we’ve broken down the key changes in a friendly format.
10 Quick Facts About the Carbon Tax Government Rebates
1. 10 per cent increase in power prices.
2. The Federal Government has said the Carbon Tax will lead to a $9.90 per week increase in the cost of living.
3. Families will on average receive $10.10 per week in assistance.
4. The assistance is in the form of tax cuts and payments. Families earning up to $80,000 per year will receive tax cuts.
5. The average low-income earning family ($50,000) with one child in primary and one child in secondary school will pay $2400 less tax, receive $3900 more in the Family Tax Benefit Part A and the carbon tax will cost them $478.
6. The same family earning a middle income ($80,000) would have $3110 less in tax, receive $70 in clean energy advances, and pay $564 for the carbon tax.
7. A high-income earning family ($150,000) would pay $4410 less tax and pay $812 for the carbon tax.
8. A pay rise of 17.10 per week for low paid workers.
9. The tax-free threshold increases from $6000 to $18,000.
10.A family tax benefit increase of $300 per child.