This year’s pre-election Budget proposes cost of living relief through modest tax cuts, lower power bills, reduced co-payment for medicines and other measures

albanese-chalmers photo

 

The Budget has swung into deficit with more forecast to come

The Labor Government’s finances still face significant structural challenges in addition to uncertainty from tariffs, elevated trade tensions, commodity prices, economic growth and geopolitical instability. We think these bigger issues are more important for investment portfolios than the Budget measures.

Interestingly, whilst this Budget was delivered just prior to the next Federal election (must happen by 17 May), it was not laden with the sweeteners that often accompany such Budgets, such as one-off payments to welfare recipients. The Government’s hands were somewhat tied in what they could do, so as not to add to counterproductive inflation, interest rates and other cost of living pressures.

Key economic observations

  • The Budget forecasts a deficit in 2024-2025 of $27.6bn (1% of GDP), a $0.7bn deterioration compared with the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) projections in December. This marks a notable turnaround from a $15.8 billion surplus recorded in 2023-2024 with deficits projected to continue over the forward estimate horizon. The deficit is expected to widen to $42.1bn (1.5% of GDP) in 2025-2026.
  • Most of the changes to the budget profile are the result of policy decisions with $34.9bn in net new measures since the MYEFO. Many of these have a flavour of cost of living support, including extended electricity rebates, increased Medicare funding and small tax cuts.
  • The budget continues to face significant structural challenges with strong growth in expenditure on programs such as the NDIS, aged care and defence. Off-budget items are also much higher than in the past, adding to the government’s funding task.
  • The dominant risk has shifted from the inflation trajectory to the potential impact from global trade disturbances. However, risks to the budget projections are two sided:
    1. Windfalls from commodity prices will fade but may be slower to decline, Treasury typically makes cautious assumptions on the outlook. We expect the price of iron ore to end 2026-2027 at US$85/t, above the budget estimate of US$60/t by mid–2026. Conversely, rising trade tensions and heightened policy uncertainty may precipitate an earlier decline in commodity prices and weakness across other revenue channels.
    2. More unsettled financial markets could also test the Treasury’s technical assumption for 10 year yields of 4.4%. That in turn could limit the government’s fiscal space to implement counter-cyclical measures to help absorb future shocks, as it did during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and COVID-19. This comes at a time when growing geopolitical uncertainty, increasing trade tensions, more frequent weather events and ongoing technological change may mean shocks are more frequent.

spending revenue as a share of gdp 1980-2025

Lower income households and Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the clear winners:

  • The government also remained focused on renewable and clean energy as part of the Future Made in Australia (FMIA) initiative.
  • Defence spending has been brought forward, but no new spending in this area was announced.
  • While not directly targeted for measures, retailers will benefit from the support to consumers, and those in the manufacturing space will benefit from the FMIA and defence spending.
  • The Budget however may not have met all expectations and hopes. Notably, no new measures for the agriculture sector were included this year, with several initiatives already in place.

Several notable omissions from the Budget

  • No superannuation-related proposals in the Budget this year.
  • No mention of the Labor Government’s plan to impose additional tax on the growth in superannuation balances over $3m, which does not currently have sufficient support to pass in the Senate. Of significant concern are two contentious points about the proposed tax:
    1. Taxation of ‘Unrealised Gains’ as at 30 June each year as part of the intended policy, and
    2. No indexation on the $3m threshold each year. This means that in 10 years time the real value of $3m would be approx $900k if not increased for inflation or 3% CPI each year, creating another setback for younger generations – many already struggling with housing unaffordability.
  • No reform to the taxation of family trusts, despite the significant uncertainty for family groups as a result of recent court decisions.
  • No trade and tariff policy of a fundamental nature given trade barriers rising around the world.
  • No GST reform, or changes to the GST base or allocation of GST revenue.
  • No mention of an extension to the small business instant asset write-off benefit which will end as planned in July 2025. The tax break allowed businesses to claim an immediate $20,000 deduction from their taxes and this is set to fall back to $1,000.

Taxation

Personal tax cuts

The Government intends to decrease the current 16% personal income tax rate to 15% in 2026-27 and 14% in 2027-28, as per the following table

Annual tax saving in 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 (compared to 2024-25)

taxable income savings table

Cost of living

Energy bill relief extended for six months

All Australian households and eligible small businesses will receive an additional energy rebate of $150. The rebate will be automatically applied to electricity bills between 1 July and 31 December 2025, in two quarterly instalments of $75. It’s expected that the eligibility rules that apply to small businesses will remain unchanged.

Student loans to be cut by 20%

Student loans will be reduced by 20% before the annual indexation is applied on 1 June 2025. The changes will apply to all HELP Student Loans, VET Student Loans, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans, Student Start-up Loans and Student Financial Supplement Scheme.

Reduced student loan repayments

The income that can be earned before student loan repayments need to be made will be increased from $54,435 in 2024/25 to $67,000 in 2025/26. Also, repayments will be calculated on just the income earned above the $67,000 threshold, not on total income. The list of eligible student loans is covered in the measure above.

Lower cap for PBS medicines

The maximum cost of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) medicines will decrease from $31.60 to $25 per script from 1 January 2026. Pensioners and Commonwealth concession cardholders will still only pay the subsidised rate of $7.70 per PBS script until 1 January 2030.

Medicare bulk billing incentives

Incentive payments will be introduced to expand bulk billing to all Australians from 1 November 2025. Also, a new Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program will be introduced for general practices if they bulk bill every visit under Medicare. Nine out of 10 GP visits are expected to be bulk billed by 2030.

Expanded ‘Help to Buy’ program

The Help to Buy program was established to assist eligible individuals with the purchase of a principal place of residence. Expected to commence later this year, the Commonwealth will provide an equity contribution up to 30% of the purchase price of an existing home and up to 40% of the purchase price of a new home. The income cap and property price caps used to determine eligibility will increase. For singles, the income cap will increase from $90,000 to $100,000. For joint applicants (and single parents), the income cap will increase from $120,000 to $160,000. The property price cap depends on the location of the property and details can be found in the Government’s media release.

Social security

‘3-day guarantee’ for child care subsidy

toddlers at childcare

Families will be eligible for at least 72 hours per fortnight (three days per week) of subsidised Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) without having to meet certain activity requirements (such as paid work, volunteering and studying). Families that still meet activity requirements, care for a First Nations child or have a valid exemption, can continue to get 100 hours of subsidised ECEC. A family income test limit ($533,280 in 2024/25) will still need to be met to be qualify for subsidised care. This measure is legislated to start from 1 January 2026.

What the budget means for the Australian economy

The economic assumptions embedded in the Budget are generally consistent with the views of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Growth is expected to be trend-like over the next year and then improve in FY27. Inflation is expected to be consistent with the RBA inflation target.

Household consumption is expected to pick up over the next 12 months. Whilst we think this is appropriate, there are risks to the rebound not being as strong if global uncertainty remains elevated. Additionally, it is possible that the interest rate cuts are shallow and do not provide as much of a boost if households prefer to maintain mortgage payments and thus reduce their debt.

Implications for your financial strategies and investments

We believe this Budget has limited consequences for investment markets this year, given the domestic uncertainty around the pending election and the global uncertainty around US trade policy and growth in China and Europe.

The tax cuts for consumers are not set to kick in until July 2026 and are not likely to have a major impact on consumer spending – especially when the savings rate is already quite low.

Taking a long term view

Fintech Financial Services remains committed to utilising market leading research providers and investment managers to not only mitigate risk in your portfolios, but look for opportunities to investment in line with your investment risk profile and objectives for the long term.

Your portfolios are robust and constructed so that they can perform well over the long run, while minimising risk, come what may.

Good financial advice takes a full spectrum approach

Importantly, we understand the interaction of all the connected parts of your financial strategy needs and how a change in one area has a flow on effect in other areas. Our comprehensive and disciplined approach to the financial strategies that deliver valuable outcomes to your needs and what’s important to you in life, is what makes the most difference above and beyond good investment returns.

Remember, things will always change in investment markets, government legislation and your personal circumstances. We are looking forward to continuing to work with you, maximising your financial outcomes no matter what the future brings Our approach helps you make smarter financial decisions.

Where to from here?

Many of the measures announced in the 2025-2026 Federal Budget need to be passed as law to take effect. With the 2025 Federal Election expected to be called shortly, there are limited days for both houses of Parliament to sit to pass these measures.

As always, please contact our office if you would like to discuss any of the above in relation to your specific circumstances.

Grant

We wish you a safe and happy break, and look forward to new beginnings in 2025.

We have prepared an end of year wrap up video. Please click on the image below to view it.

Business Hours Over the Holiday Season
Closed: Friday 20th December 2024
Re-opening: Monday 6th January 2025

For any urgent matters during this period, please call mobile 0419 833 777.

We look forward to empowering your financial success in 2025 and beyond.

Merry Christmas

We wish you a safe and happy break, and look forward to new beginnings in 2024.

We have prepared an end of year wrap up video. Please click on the image below to view it.

As part of our tradition, Fintech Financial Services (Fintech) has made a donation to the ‘National Breast Cancer Foundation’ (NBCF.org.au) on your behalf – instead of sending Christmas cards in the mail.

Business Hours Over the Holiday Season
Closed: Friday 22nd December 2023
Re-opening: Monday 8th January 2024

 

For any urgent matters during this period, please call mobile 0419 833 777.

The team at Fintech sincerely wish you a safe, happy and fun holiday period.

We look forward to working with you in 2024 and beyond.

Merry Christmas

As global economies adjust to the withdrawal of trillions of dollars of stimulus post-Covid, inflation is remaining stubbornly high alongside ongoing conflict in Ukraine, elevated energy and commodities prices and China’s reopening from Omicron BF.7.

Wuhan -- Hankou station after lockdown

Central banks around the world are continuing to raise interest rates in an attempt to contain inflation. The US is leading the way as the Federal Reserve Chairman continues to hold a firm line against higher prices and persistently strong employment & wages growth. Australia’s Reserve Bank is on a similar path but to a lesser degree, given that the US is doing some of the heavy lifting for Australia as it slows global growth overall.

The pressing questions on everyone’s lips are:

  • How high will interest rates go?
  • Are we heading into a recession?
  • Will it be a soft or hard landing?
  • Are we already in a recession?

As long as core inflation stays above the major central banks’ target levels (typically 2-3%), there are likely to be several more interest rate increases interjected with a pause or two across the 2023 calendar year.

Whether interest rates continue to rise, stay level or even drop again beyond 2024 is unknown depending on economic data, the lag effect and the answers to the questions above.

Professional economists are forecasting the possibility of a recession at a higher rate than anytime over the past decade and Google searches of the word “recession” hit an all-time high in 2022.  A key indicator for an impending recession is a sustained period of ‘yield curve inversion’, which is where short term Government bond rates (2 yr) are higher than the long term (10 yr) rates. This has been the case in the US since the end of last year and points to economic growth slowing in the longer term, more than in the short term, and a pending recession.

The Good News

If a recession does come, it will happen with a backdrop that includes a historically strong employment market, which would hopefully bring about a less severe, shallow recession. In Australia’s case we also have an abundance of natural resources that the world needs and we are benefiting from higher commodity prices and the strong US dollar. This may assist us avoid a technical recession altogether i.e. two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. However, this remains to be seen and will also depend a lot on what happens in the US and other major economies around the world.

feather making a soft landing

The employment market is only one piece of evidence that counters the recession narrative. There are others as well, which include:

  • LVMH (parent company of Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co, Fendi) reported record numbers in the first nine months of last year. Consumers are spending aggressively on luxury items.
  • Airline fares, up 28% versus last year represent the second fastest growing category in the inflation index (behind fuel oil), and travel demand has soared despite the cost.

arrow with slight upward trend held in hands

Lagging Data

These results do not necessarily feel like a recession. However, we note that the data is lagging and captures what has already happened. It’s possible the environment could be much different six months from now, emphasising that it’s not possible to predict outcomes, but that taking a long-term view is key to being adequately prepared.

From an investment standpoint, we take solace in the fact the stock market and economic cycle don’t move in unison. The worst performance of the stock market is usually observed in the 12 months leading up to a recession rather than during the recession itself. There have been exceptions, but markets generally tend to be forward-looking while economic data is backward-looking.

Stunning sunset on a beach in Thailand

Let’s not forget lessons from recent history. Only two years ago we had an economic deterioration while the stock market moved higher. It’s certainly possible the same thing could happen again this year.

We are hopeful 2023 will be a smoother ride than 2022. But we are confident that together, we can navigate whatever the future holds, and we look forward to supporting you throughout the journey.

As usual, please contact us if you would like to discuss any of the above in relation to your circumstances, your financial advice and strategy areas, or your structures and investments.

We wish you a safe and happy break, and look forward to new beginnings in 2023.

We have prepared an end of year wrap up video. Please click on the image below to view it.

As part of our tradition, Fintech Financial Services (Fintech) has made a donation to the ‘Beyond’ (Anxiety, depression and suicide prevention support – Beyond Blue) on your behalf – instead of sending Christmas cards in the mail. Red Cross support the most vulnerable people in our local communities here in Australia and across the Asia Pacific.

 

Business Hours Over the Holiday Season
Closed: Friday 23rd December 2022
Re-opening: Monday 9th January 2023

 

For any urgent matters during this period, please call mobile 0419 833 777.

The team at Fintech sincerely wish you a safe, happy and fun holiday period.

We look forward to working with you in 2023 and beyond.

Merry Christmas

Balancing a revenue windfall, pre-election promises, structural spending demands & persistent inflation pressures

Jim.Chalmers.2022

The Labor Government under Anthony Albanese has implemented its election policies and expects lower budget deficits in the next two years thanks to increased tax revenues from higher commodity prices and other savings.

However, future years are expected to bring significant deterioration to the economy as structural spending pressures, higher interest rates and lower productivity impact growth. As the Treasurer Jim Chalmers foreshadowed, this is largely a “bread and butter” budget with no changes to personal income tax rates. Any other significant reforms being planned by the Labor Government across income tax rates or superannuation were not addressed in this budget and if they are applicable could be announced in next year’s 2023 Federal Budget in May.

Observations

  • Yet another revenue windfall from high commodity prices and the offsetting of new spending with the savings, has resulted in sharply lower budget deficits over the next 2 years (the deficit this year has been revised down to $36.9bn from $78bn forecast in March 2022). This avoids adding to inflation and the pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to keep raising interest rates.
  • Budget deficit projections are now worse beyond 2024-2025 and will most likely lead to the Treasurer Jim Chalmers looking for was to increase fiscal (tax) revenues or cut spending in next May’s budget.
  • There has been a realistic attempt to highlight the structural pressure on the budget whilst focussing on the cost of living pressures affecting less affluent Australians.
  • The economic assumptions used in the budget look reasonable and Australia’s public debt remains low compared to other comparable countries, which will assist the Government retain its triple A credit rating.
  • Commodity price assumptions used in the budget remain well below current levels and so could be a source of surprise to reduce the deficit further.

Key proposals

  • Reducing eligibility age for Downsizer Contributions from 60 to 55.
  • Increasing Commonwealth Seniors Health Card income thresholds.
  • Allowing pension age social security recipients to earn more from employment before their payment is impacted.
  • More generous eligibility rules for Child Care Subsidy and Parental Leave Pay.
  • More favourable Centrelink assessment of home sale proceeds.
  • Continued support for homebuyers, and
  • Increased funding for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Please note: The announced changes are proposals only and may or may not be made law.
The successful implementation of the measures will require successful negotiation through the Senate where the Government does not hold a majority. Therefore, The final version of these measures may differ from the current announcements.

albanese-chalmers photo

 

Summary

Personal Taxation

  • No changes to personal income tax: The Budget did not contain any measures announcing changes to personal income tax. This includes:
    • No changes to the Stage 3 tax cuts (announced by the former Liberal Government) which are still tabled to take effect from 1 July 2024, and
    • No extension of the Low and Middle Income Tax Offset, which ended 30 June 2022.
  • Helping enable electric car purchases: For purchases of battery, hydrogen, or plug-in hybrid cars with a retail price below $84,619 (the luxury car tax threshold for fuel efficient vehicles) after 1 July 2022, fringe benefits tax and import tariffs will not apply. Note: Employers will still need to account for the cost in an employee’s reportable fringe benefits.

No changes to personal tax rates and thresholds

personal-tax-rates chart

Home Ownership

  • Housing affordability measures: A key focus of the Budget were measures to help individuals secure housing. This is expected to occur largely via the Housing Accord – which will bring Federal, State and Local Governments together to work on housing affordability and homelessness. Measures announced include:
    • A commitment to the ‘Help to Buy’ scheme which will support first home buyers to buy a home with the Federal Government being a part owner, resulting in a lower balance to be funded by the individual themselves.
    • A Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee from 1 October 2022 which, similar to the existing First Home Deposit Guarantee scheme, is expected to provide up to 10,000 first home buyers with a guarantee over their mortgage, removing the need for lenders mortgage insurance

Superannuation

  • Expanding eligibility for the Downsizer Contribution: Legislation has been introduced to reduce the Downsizer Contribution eligibility age from 60 to 55 years of age. This measure will allow more people to make a further contributions of up to $300,000 each to their Superannuation after selling their family home owned for more than 10 years. The measure is proposed to take effect from the first quarter after passing into law, which is expected to be 1 January 2023.
  • SMSF and tax residency: The Government confirmed its intention to continue with the 2021/22 Budget measure of extending the temporary trustee absence period from two years to five years and removing the ‘active member’ test. These changes will help SMSFs continue to maintain their Australian tax residency even while members are overseas, and allow them to continue to contribute to their funds even if they become non-tax residents.
  • Three-year audit cycle for SMSFs not proceeding: Originally announced as part of the 2018/19 Budget, it was confirmed the current Government will not proceed with this measure.

Social Security

Childcare subsidy graph

  • Child care subsidy changes: As part of a package of reforms to encourage parents to return to the workforce, the maximum child care subsidy from 1 July 2023 will increase to 90% for families earning less than $80,000. For every $5,000 earned over this threshold the subsidy will reduce by 1% – reducing to zero for incomes $530,000 or above. The higher rate of subsidy for families with multiple children in care will continue under its current arrangements, ceasing once the eldest child reaches six years old or has been out of care for 26 weeks.
  • Paid parental leave increases: Announced before the Budget, from 1 July 2024 the Paid Parental Leave Scheme will increase the maximum period of leave by two weeks each year – reaching a maximum of 26 weeks by 1 July 2026. Further, from 1 July 2023 both parents will be able to access leave at the same time or enter into more flexible arrangements than currently available under the limited Dad and Partner Pay limits, and requirements to take 12 weeks as a continuous period. The paid parental leave income test will also be extended to include a $350,000 family income test, which can be used to help families who do not meet the individual income test.
  • Reducing assessment of former home proceeds: For individuals on social security benefits, the temporary assets test exemption of home sale proceeds is to be extended from 12 months to 24 months. Additionally, these proceeds will only be deemed to earn a return at the lower deeming rate (currently 0.25% per annum) for this period. Note: This exemption only applies to the portion of the proceeds expected to be used in a new home purchase.
  • Work Bonus deposit for older Australians: Announced as an outcome from the Jobs and Skills Summit, age pensioners and veterans over service pension age are expected to receive a one-off credit of $4,000 into their Work Bonus income bank. The Work Bonus typically offsets $300 per fortnight of income earned from employment or self-employment activities, allowing pensioners to receive a higher age pension whilst still working.
  • Increased income thresholds for Commonwealth Seniors Health Card: The Government has committed to increasing the income thresholds to qualify for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card from $61,284 to $90,000 for singles, and from $98,054 to $144,000 combined for couples. This measure creates an opportunity for more senior Australians to access reduced costs for healthcare, pharmaceuticals, utilities and transport and more.
  • Deeming rate freeze: The Government has also confirmed its intention to retain the current deeming rates until at least 30 June 2024.
  • Plan for cheaper medicines: From 1 January 2023, the general patient co-payment for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme treatments is expected to reduce from $42.50 to $30.

Implications for asset classes and investments in Australia

  • Cash and term deposits: Returns on Cash accounts are improving thanks to the current RBA interest rate hikes but still remain historically low. Term Deposits rates being paid by some banks for longer terms such as 12 Months, are becoming more attractive at 3.8% and higher levels.
  • Bonds: The RBA has hiked interest rates rapidly from 0.10% to 2.60% since April 2022, and are widely expected to increase rates further in November and December 2022 by 0.25% or 0.50% before pausing early in early 2023.
    • The need to keep increasing rates is due to persistently high inflation, full employment and overheating markets following the trillions of dollars of stimulus injected into the economy along with interest rate cuts following the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.
    • Further rate hikes and forecast budget deficits (albeit deficits may now be lower than expected) will continue to add upwards pressure to bond yields in the near term.
    • Investors who purchased fixed rate and long duration bonds purchased before the recent interest rate increases have lost capital value in those bonds. In fact, bonds have dropped over -12% in the last 6-9 months. Bond markets are reaching the peak in this cycle and have now pricing in yields around 4% (compared to 0.20% 6 months ago).
    • As the impacts of higher interest rates and other Government austerity measures are felt, inflation and the economy growth will start to show more signs of contraction. Current bonds yields at around 4% and higher are becoming attractive in anticipation of this, and we are positioned to take advantage of buying opportunities as they arise for your portfolio.
  • Shares: The budget is positive for childcare and construction companies but beyond that there is not really a lot to impact the share market. However, we are continuing to focus on high quality Australian and International companies that have strong competitive positions in their markets, resilient earnings, positive cash flows and low levels of debt.
  • Property: The confirmation of more homebuyer schemes and more immigrants offset by long term housing supply measures in the budget are unlikely to alter the dominant negative impact of rising mortgage rates in driving a cyclical downturn in home prices into 2023.
  • The Australia Dollar (AUD): the Budget is unlikely to change the direction for the AUD, particularly against the strong USD as inflation remains high and the US Federal Reserve continues to hike interest rates.

The above budget initiatives have the potential to deliver benefits to you depending on your financial situation, personal circumstances and stage in life. Please contact us if you would like to discuss any of this further.

As usual, we are looking forward to continuing to assist you confirm the important financial strategy areas relevant to you and provide advice to maximise your outcomes in the long term future.

 

As the post-pandemic economic recovery continues to take shape, Australian Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has handed down the 2022-23 Federal Budget

Among the proposed changes, the Morrison Government has announced a pre-election cash splash and plans for lower budget deficits in the coming years.

The additional spending relates mainly to this calendar year, and given the stronger than expected economy it looks to be more motivated by politics than economics. “Fiscal repair” kicks in for the medium-term but this takes the form of restrained spending growth in contrast to the last two budgets, rather than austerity. Despite this, the Government is able to announce lower budget deficit projections thanks to a windfall from faster growth and higher commodity prices which is resulting in faster tax collections and lower welfare spending.

Key points

  • A budget windfall has allowed both more spending and projected lower budget deficits, with the 2022-23 budget deficit expected to be $80bn (down from $99bn in December 2021).
  • Key measures include one-off “cost of living” payments, a temporary cut to fuel excise, more spending on infrastructure & defence, more help for home buyers, and the continuation of the 50% reduction in minimum Pension drawdown rates from superannuation.
  • Relying mainly on nominal economic growth to reduce the deficit and debt, the Government runs the risk that it could take a very long time to get back to budget surpluses and repay the almost $1 Trillion debt to a reasonable level.

Economic assumptions

  • The Government revised up its growth forecasts for this financial year (from 3.75% to 4.25%) and kept 2022-23 GDP growth unchanged at 3.5%.
  • Unemployment is expected to fall to 3.75% by June 2023 (down from 4.25%).
  • Inflation and wages forecasts have also been revised up significantly.
  • Net immigration (estimated to be +41,000 this year rising to +235,000 by 2025-26) becoming more of a growth support.
  • The Government pushed out its $US55/tonne iron ore price assumption to September quarter 2022. While iron remains around $US135/tonne, it is a source of revenue upside.

Table of Economic Assumptions for Real GDP - Inflation - Wages - Unemployment

Read on for a round-up of how the proposals might affect your household expenses and financial future.

Remember, many of these proposals could change as legislation passes through parliament.

Superannuation

Temporarily extending the minimum Pension drawdown relief

Proposed effective date: 1 July 2022

The temporary reduction to the minimum income drawdown requirement for superannuation Pensions will be further extended until 30 June 2023.

This will allow people to minimise the need to sell down assets given ongoing market volatility. It applies to account-based, transition to retirement and term allocated superannuation Pensions.

For the 2022-23 financial year, the proposed minimum Pension drawdown will be:

Table showing the proposed minimum pension drawdown

 

Tax

  1. Temporarily cutting fuel excise

    Proposed effective date: 30 March 2022
    Fuel excise will temporarily be cut by half, or 22.1 cents per litre, to save families an estimated $30 a week. This measure will end on 28 September 2022.

  2. Increasing the Low and Middle Income Tax Offset (LMITO)

    Proposed effective date: 1 July 2021

    • The LMITO will be increased to up to $1,500 for the 2021-22 financial year. All eligible LMITO recipients will benefit from the full $420 increase, referred to as the Cost of Living Tax Offset.
    • The benefit for those earning up to $37,000 will be $675 (currently $255).
    • For those earning between $37,000 and $48,000, the offset will increase at the rate of 7.5 cents per $1 above $37,000 to a maximum of $1,500 (currently $1,080).
    • Those earning between $48,000 and $90,000 are eligible for the maximum LMITO benefit of $1,500 (currently $1,080).
    • For income above $90,000, the offset phases out at a rate of 3 cents per $1 and is not available when taxable income exceeds $126,000.
    • The LMITO is due to end on 30 June 2022 and has not been extended.
    Personal tax rates, thresholds and offsets
    Table showing Personal Tax rates and Thresholds

    The Low Income Tax Offset (LITO) remains unchanged at $700 and will be reduced at a rate of:
    — 5 cents per $1 for income between $37,500 and $45,000, and
    — 1.5 cents per $1 for income between $45,000 and $66,667.
    Effective tax-free threshold (2021-22) with LMITO and LITO:
    — $25,437 for individuals below Age Pension age (some Medicare levy may be payable).

  3. Increasing the Medicare levy low-income thresholds


    Proposed effective date: 1 July 2021
    Low-income taxpayers will generally continue to be exempt from paying the Medicare levy.
    — Singles will be increased from $23,226 to $23,365
    — Families will be increased from $39,167 to $39,402
    — Single seniors and pensioners will be increased from $36,705 to $36,925
    — Families (seniors and pensioners) will be increased from $51,094 to $51,401.
    For each dependent child or student, the family income thresholds increase by a further $3,619.

Social security, families and aged care

  1. Introducing a one-off cost of living payment

    Proposed effective date: 28 April 2022 onwards

    To help with higher cost of living pressures, the Government will provide a one-off tax-free payment of $250 to Australians who receive qualifying social security payments or hold eligible concession cards, including:
    — Age Pension
    — Disability Support Pension
    — Carer Payment
    — Carer Allowance Jobseeker Payment
    — Pensioner Concession Card holders
    —  Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders.

    An individual can only receive one payment, even if they’re eligible for multiple benefits or concession cards.

  2. Enhancing the Paid Parental Leave scheme

    Proposed effective date: 1 July 2023

    Currently, the Paid Parental Leave scheme is made up of two payments for eligible carers of a newborn or recently adopted child:
    — Parental Leave Pay of up to 18 weeks at a rate based on the national minimum wage.
    — Dad and Partner Pay of up to 2 weeks at a rate based on the national minimum wage.

    The Government plans to create a single scheme of up to 20 weeks, fully flexible and shareable for working parents within two years of their child’s birth or adoption. Single parents will also benefit from the extended 20-week entitlement.

    The income test will also be broadened. Parents who don’t meet the individual income threshold (currently $151,350) can still qualify for payment if they meet a family income threshold of $350,000 a year.

  3. Lowering the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) threshold


    Effective date: 1 July 2022

    The Government will reduce the PBS safety net thresholds to support people who have a high demand for prescription medicines due to their health needs.

    This means approximately 12 fewer scripts for concessional patients and 2 fewer scripts for general patients a year.

    On reaching the PBS safety net, concessional patients will receive their PBS medicines at no cost for the rest of the year, and general patients will pay the concessional co-payment rate (currently $6.80 per prescription).

Housing Affordability

Expanding the Home Guarantee Scheme

Proposed effective date: 1 July 2022 or 1 October 2022 depending on the specific scheme

The Home Guarantee Scheme allows first home buyers to build or purchase a newly built home with a low deposit, replacing the need for commercial lenders’ mortgage insurance.

The Government is expanding the scheme to make available:
  • 35,000 guarantees each year (up from the current 10,000) from 1 July 2022 under the First Home Guarantee, to support eligible first homebuyers to build or purchase a newly built home with a deposit as low as 5%.
  • 10,000 guarantees each year from 1 October 2022 to 30 June 2025 under a new Regional Home Guarantee, to support eligible homebuyers (including non-first home buyers and permanent residents), to purchase or construct a new home in regional areas with a deposit as low as 5%.
  • 5,000 guarantees each year from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2025 to expand the Family Home Guarantee. This program enables eligible single parents with dependants to enter or re-enter the housing market with a deposit as little as 2%.

Eligible first home buyers may also be able to take advantage of the First Home Super Saver Scheme which allows them to use the concessionally taxed super system to save their first home deposit. Other federal and state grants and stamp duty concessions may also be available.

Assessment and summary

This is very much a pre-election Budget with few direct losers (e.g. tax avoiders) and lots of winners – including low and middle income taxpayers, welfare recipients, motorists, first home buyers, parents with young children, older super members, apprentices, builders, small business owners, defence industries, transport users, tourism operators, and even Koalas.

The Budget has a number of things to commend it:
  • Medium term structural spending is no longer being ramped up faster than the economy.
  • Most of the budget windfall from stronger growth and higher commodity prices is being put to deficit reduction and hence long-term debt stabilisation (unlike last year when it was mostly spent), and
  • The annual addition to infrastructure spending along with measures like the Apprenticeship Incentive Scheme will provide some boost to productive potential.
However, at a micro level the Budget may be criticised on the grounds that:
  • The temporary fuel excise reduction is bad economic policy in that, it may be very hard to reverse if oil prices keep rising or stay high, it will make no sense if oil prices fall back on say a Ukraine peace deal, and it sets a bad precedent.
  • Many welfare recipients are arguably getting compensated for “cost of living” pressures twice – via the one of payment and via the indexation of payments to inflation, and
  • The housing measures continue to focus more on demand than supply which will result in higher than otherwise home prices (even though they are unlikely to prevent the cyclical downturn in prices now starting) and will boost debt levels.
At a macro-economic level there are two big risks flowing from the Budget:
  1. Firstly, the pre-election cash splash (which is about 1% of GDP in terms of new stimulus in the Budget for this calendar year, but is actually a bit more if spending of the $16bn in “decisions taken but not yet announced” in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) are allowed for) risks overstimulating the economy at a time when it is already strong, further adding to inflationary pressures and adding to the amount by which the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will have to hike interest rates, and
  2. Secondly the reliance on growing the economy to reduce the budget deficit and debt is unlikely to reduce debt quickly enough and is dependent on interest rates remaining low relative to economic growth. 10-year bond yields have already gone up more than four-fold since their 2020 low warning of a sharp increase in debt interest payments beyond the medium term. And economic growth is unlikely to be anywhere near strong enough to reduce the debt burden like it did in the post-WW2 period unless there is another immigration boom or 1980s style focus on boosting productivity – both of which look unlikely. In the meantime, the strategy would be highly vulnerable if anything came along to curtail the commodity boom. So at some point tough decisions are likely to be required either to reduce spending as a share of GDP or raise taxes.

Implications for the RBA

It is now likely that the RBA will start raising interest rates in the period June to August 2022, with the cash rate expected to reach 0.75% – 1.00% by year end and 1.50% – 1.75% in 2023. The extra stimulus in the Budget increases the chance that the first rate hike will be 0.40% rather than 0.15% (taking the cash rate to 0.50% after the first increase).

Implications for Australian Assets

  • Cash and Term Deposits – Cash returns are poor but they will start to rise as the RBA starts hiking from mid-year.
  • Bonds – Ongoing budget deficits add to upwards pressure on Bond yields. Where the rising trend in yields results in capital loss, total Bond returns (income + capital) will remain low for the medium-term.
  • Shares – More fiscal stimulus (tax breaks), strong growth and relatively low interest rates all remain supportive of Australian shares. However, rising Bond yields and RBA rate hikes will result in a more constrained and volatile ride.
  • Property – More home buyer incentives are unlikely to offset the negative impact of poor affordability and rising mortgage rates in driving a cyclical downturn in home prices.
  • The Australian Dollar (AUD) – Strong commodity prices point to more upside.

As always, please contact our office if you would like to discuss any of the above in relation to your specific circumstances.

 

Key Takeaways

  1. The rapid escalation between Russia and Ukraine has dramatically shifted investor sentiment. We are witnessing a meaningful setback in key financial markets, prompting volatility and negative speculation. This is normal amid uncertainty, but it is worth stepping back to understand the fundamentals of the situation.
  2. A wide range of potential scenarios and outcomes are possible from here. Your portfolios are highly researched and diversified to minimise risk, and we should try to avoid predicting every possible pathway and instead look at the potential implications across assets.
  3. Energy prices are an area we believe will be vividly impacted.
  4. Russian stocks only account for around 2.9% of the emerging-markets basket . So, while the local market reaction has been severe, the numbers don’t argue for a significant long-term impairment across other emerging markets.
  5. During wars and conflicts, the historical track record of the equity market is mixed, with some conflicts such as the Crimea invasion in 2014 leaving equity markets barely changed. Those with a long time horizon will likely be well placed staying invested, statistically speaking.

Setting the scene – Why Russia/Ukraine Concerns Matter

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is increasingly fluid and potentially harrowing. As investors – not as politicians or news reporters – we thought some perspective on the investing implications from a multi-asset perspective is warranted.

As a client of Fintech Financial Services, you will be aware that we are advocates of long-term investing where it can be aligned to your goals and aspirations. Inherently, we believe it is important in situations such as this to keep one’s bearings and not lose a long-term perspective. Unsettling headlines can lead to fear, which in turn can lead to sub-optimal decisions, which in turn can undermine long-term return objectives. Understanding what is important to you and staying focused on the ‘financial advice & strategies’ that will achieve those things in the long term is the key.

At the same time, we can’t just ignore risks. As fundamental investors, we believe it is important to assess and understand any potential long-term market implications from this type of potential conflict. While there are certain impacts that are relatively clear and mostly well understood by market participants, there are also other less obvious impacts that need to be assessed.

Furthermore, it is important to be alert and prepared during periods of uncertainty, as short-term fluctuations and volatility can uncover potentially significant investment opportunities at attractive valuations.

First-Level Impacts: Energy Markets Must be a Primary Focus

It is fairly clear that the Russia/Ukraine conflict has potentially significant energy market implications. This is particularly true in European natural-gas markets, which are supplied mostly by way of imports from Russia. Russia also is a significant player in global oil markets, and speculation around the price impact from curtailed supply out of Russia has already embedded a “geopolitical risk premium” into oil prices.

Gazprom signage

As well, to the extent that the sanctions imposed increase in severity, there could be significant incremental friction imposed upon an already stressed global supply chain, which in turn could exert more significant inflationary pressures in other commodities that Russia supplies to the world. Between Russia and Ukraine, the two countries account for 25% of global wheat exports, and Ukraine is responsible for 13% of corn exports , so food inflation is a major risk. Additionally, Russia is the largest producer of ammonium nitrate and is a large exporter of palladium, platinum, and aluminum.

In an environment of rising global inflation, this increases the pressure on central banks globally to tighten monetary policy. Specifically, central banks may feel compelled to act in order to dampen inflationary pressures, most likely through increases in policy rates (including interest rates). In the event that rates reset higher, this generally represents a headwind for fixed-income investments – all else being equal – particularly in developed markets.

Equity markets, while certainly volatile of late, will be impacted differently. As sanctions are now imposed on Russia by western countries at scale, the Russian economy and equity market could weaken further. We’ve already seen the MSCI Russia Index (a favored index for Russian stocks) fall by more than 60% year-to-date in 2022 .

Elsewhere, the prospect of accelerating inflation in developed-market economies may come with cost-of-capital implications, especially for longer-duration growth equities (such as the big technology names with lofty valuations), which may not yet be fully priced in. And, of course, there are potential beneficiaries, such as global energy companies who could benefit from an extended period of elevated energy prices.

Exhibit 1 Energy Stocks are Clear Outperformers in Global Equity Markets Year-to-Date

Exhibit1-2 Graph

 

Energy Market Implications Will be Felt Most in Europe

Russia (and more broadly the other so-called “Commonwealth of Independent States,” or CIS) is an important supplier of energy to the world. With production of 14.7 million barrels per day , Russia met 16% of the world’s petroleum (oil and refined products) needs and on this basis is the world’s second-largest producer behind the United States. At 679 billion cubic meters per year, Russia produces 17% of the world’s natural gas, and again is the world’s second-largest producer, behind the United States.

Exhibit 2  Russia Share of Commodity Production is Meaningful

Exhibit2-2 Graph

 

Perhaps most importantly, Russia looms largest as an energy supplier to Europe. Including other CIS countries, Russia supplied approximately 43% of Europe’s imported oil and petroleum products, as well as around 56% of Europe’s imported natural-gas supply, in 2020[1]. Moreover, approximately 33% of gas supplied by Russia to Europe is transported through Ukraine. The key message here is simple: when conflict bubbles up between Russia and Ukraine, energy markets take note.

The trouble spot is clearly Europe. The region has become increasingly reliant on imported energy supply as a combination of policy initiatives, regulatory-driven supply curtailments and a lack of investment in local conventional-energy supply growth. Together, this has conspired to cause local energy supply to shrink in recent years. With global-energy prices substantially rising through 2021 and into 2022, the aforementioned local-supply issues in Europe served to exacerbate the local vulnerabilities, leading to substantially more rapid increases in European energy prices than those experienced globally.

The Impact of Sanctions and Potential Knock-On Effects

How Russia reacts to sanctions, and how the rest of the world reacts to Russia’s reaction, could significantly impact energy markets. It is possible, even likely, that in response to sanctions, Russia may restrict energy supplies in an attempt to exert geopolitical leverage on the West.

As well, it is entirely possible that there could be damage inflicted on Ukraine’s gas infrastructure, as well as potential restriction of gas supplies through other European pipelines, such as Yamal and the controversial Nord Stream 1.

The United States has been working to source additional gas supplies (predominantly liquefied natural gas or LNG) into Europe. However, while there may be enough gas to mitigate losses from Ukraine, it is unlikely that there is enough spare LNG capacity to compensate for other pipelines being cut off.

There is also a risk that Russia will seek to restrict its oil exports. This brings in other oil exporting countries, who may or may not offset any oil-supply cuts. For example, to date, Saudi Arabia has shown no indication that they are willing to backfill this void. In response to such a curtailment, the International Energy Agency could help coordinate a release of oil supply from various strategic petroleum reserves to help offset the supply shortfall, but this is far from guaranteed. Bear in mind, as well, that progressions in negotiations around reinstatement of the Iranian nuclear accord could eventually bring additional barrels from Iran onto the oil market, but this deal is by no means a lock, either.

Inflation Thoughts: It Could Get Worse Before It Gets Better

Severe sanctions are already being imposed against Russia, but this could get worse – and may add to preexisting inflation pressures. The potential sanction list below is far from exhaustive, but it could foreseeably include sanctioning the three largest Russian banks (VTB, Sberbank, and Gazprombank), removing Russia from SWIFT, or sanctioning exports of critical technology and members of Putin’s inner circle, among others.

Russia’s response to these sanctions could prompt an increased risk of inflation. This is likely to include disruption of critical energy, food, and industrial commodities. By some estimates, these disruptions could add up to 2% extra headline inflation in developed markets, most notably in Europe[1]. This, in turn, could potentially serve to give further impetus to accelerated tightening of monetary policy, given the inflationary backdrop and already hawkish signals from central banks. On the other hand, there is a chance that rate hikes could be delayed to buffer against economic uncertainty, plus fiscal spending could be loosened to cushion the blow to real incomes.

Digging into some of the details, we see that the energy component of the inflation calculation varies from region to region. In the US consumer price index (CPI), as an example, energy price changes accounted for 7.5% of the index in late 2021[2]. That doesn’t seem all that significant; however, we can see that when energy prices rise substantially, as they did in the January 2022 CPI report, this can significantly influence the overall inflation number. In this report, energy-price increases of over 25% year-over-year contributed close to a 2% CPI change, which was over a quarter of the 7.5% year-over-year change in the index.

Fixed Income Implications: The Defensive Ballast Requires Extra Care

Inflation tends to erode real returns, and rising policy rates (deployed in an effort to offset inflation) tend to negatively impact bond pricing, creating a “double-whammy” of sorts for fixed-income investors.

However, in this instance, there are some important and potentially offsetting considerations. Generally, increases to policy rates tend to be driven by an economy that could sustain higher rates. If central banks sense a vulnerability in the economic environment, they may act conservatively and decide to pause on rate hikes. Certain fixed-income markets should benefit from that.

Even if central banks do raise rates in line with market consensus to halt inflation, fixed-income investors would benefit from reinvestment of coupons at higher rates in the new higher-yield regime, so the impact from any price loss due to yields moving higher is mitigated to some extent.

Russian Equity Implications: A Dangerous Place, But a Small Slice of Emerging Markets

Among stocks, let’s first take a direct look at Russian equities. Of note, Russia accounts for less than 3% of the Emerging Market Index, so we do not expect a significantly long-term impairment to this basket. But more pointedly, the performance of the Russian equity market is back to its early-2016 lows, having fallen over 60% from its 2021 high[3]. This is a clear signal from investors regarding the significance of this situation. For perspective, the Russian index last reached those levels in 2016 primarily due to the fall of oil prices, but also due to the impact of sanctions imposed after Russia annexed Crimea.

Note that from the 2016 lows, through the peak in 2021, the Russian index price level increased 160%, and the total return was 265%, compared to total returns for the MSCI World of 130%, and the MSCI Emerging Markets index of 107%. This time period was obviously cherry-picked, to the flattery of the Russian equity market, but the point is simple: buying into fear can be rewarding.

So, what is different this time? The current invasion is more significant in scale and magnitude than what occurred in 2014. This time around, the oil price is also strong, now over $100 per barrel, partly in response to Russia’s invasion. Let’s now consider the Russian equity market by looking at its largest constituents. The top ten stocks account for over 80% of the MSCI Russia index, so it is very concentrated. Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, will be the target of sanctions itself. Assuming sanctions weaken the Russian economy, the banking sector is very likely to suffer with higher credit costs. Since October 2021, Sberbank is now down almost 90%, with a price to earnings (P/E) ratio of just 1x and a 50% dividend yield, so the market seems to be making a binary bet on Sberbank’s demise—with the odds stacked against it.

The three large Russian energy companies (Gazprom, Lukoil, and Rosneft) also comprise 35%-40% of the index. Higher oil and gas prices are typically a boon to these companies. However, the market also seems to be making a somewhat binary bet on these three, with P/E ratios between 2-3x and dividend yields between 20%-30%. Producing such a valuable commodity, these companies will likely find a market for their oil and gas eventually, should Europe no longer be a customer, but developing new markets would take time.

A final consideration for investors is that sanctions could involve the prohibition of investors to own securities of Russian companies. For instance, the US government has banned the US listing of certain Chinese companies over concerns of national security. It is not a stretch to imagine that a similar ban could be placed on American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), American Depositary Shares (ADSs), or Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) of Russian stocks. Similarly, Russia could impose its own restrictions on foreign investment.

In short, Russian stocks are an extremely risky place to be, even at current prices. But thankfully they do not represent a meaningful exposure to the broader emerging-market basket globally.

Global Equity Market Implications: Sector Allocations to Play a Big Role

Turning to global equity markets, the US has experienced tough going in 2022 to date.

Exhibit 3 The US Investment Landscape in Early 2022 (Year-to-Date) is Ugly.

Exhibit3-2 Graph

 

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has certainly had a meaningful impact on the collective market psyche, but it’s far from the only factor. Inflationary pressures, the tightening monetary policy, and a challenging earnings season have all weighed on sentiment. In particular, the past decade’s big winner, US large-cap growth equities, have experienced a significant setback, underperforming their large-cap value counterparts. Interestingly, non-US equities have out-performed US equities as well.

We say all this to illustrate that equity markets, while certainly volatile of late, will likely carry sector dispersion and are unlikely to be impacted equally. However, your portfolios remain overweight energy companies as we continue to see relative value in the sector.

A Final Takeaway for Concerned Clients

Finally, we’d like to close with a word on the benefits of long-term investing. Looking back through prior geopolitical events, we find that staying invested in line with your specific strategies gives you the highest probability of investing success to achieve your goals. That’s not to say the risks aren’t worthy of your attention – they definitely are – but carrying a diversified portfolio of undervalued assets should hold you in good stead over your investing lifetime.

Exhibit 4 A Short History of Geopolitical Events and Equity Market Movements.

Exhibit4-2 Graph

 

In this sense, the classic British statement emanating from World War II, “Keep calm and carry on,” seems quite appropriate to us as we view the investment case regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict. A long-term approach to investing can help guard against unwise decisions overly informed by short-term fears. A fundamental, valuation-driven approach can help assess the opportunity set and potentially identify attractive opportunities.

As always, if you would like to discuss any of this in relation to your specific situation, please contact us.

Sources:

1 Source RBC Capital Markets, February 2022
2 Sourced from Morningstar Direct as at 02/24/2022
3 Sourced from the International Energy Agency, 2019.
4 Also sourced from the International Energy Agency, 2019.
5 Sourced from BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2021
6 Sourced Capital Economics, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley research reports, February 2022.
7 Sourced from Federal Reserve data, to 12/31/2021
8 Sourced using the MSCI Russia index from Morningstar Direct, to 02/24/2022.
9 Again, sourced from Morningstar Direct.

We wish you a safe and happy break, and look forward to new beginnings in 2022.

We have prepared an end of year wrap up video. Please click on the image below to view it.

As part of our tradition, Fintech Financial Services (Fintech) has made a donation to Red Cross (Australian Red Cross) on your behalf – instead of sending Christmas cards in the mail. Red Cross support the most vulnerable people in our local communities here in Australia and across the Asia Pacific.

 

Business Hours Over the Holiday Season
Closed: Thursday 23rd December 2021
Re-opening: Monday 10th January 2022

 

For any urgent matters during this period, please call mobile 0419 833 777.

The team at Fintech sincerely wish you a very safe and happy holiday period.

We look forward to working with you in 2022 and beyond.

Merry Christmas

We wish you a safe and happy break, and look forward to new beginnings in 2021.

We have also prepared an end of year wrap up video. Please click on the image below to view it.

As part of our tradition, Fintech Financial Services (Fintech) has made a donation on your behalf – instead of sending Christmas cards in the mail – to ‘Act for kids’ this year Act For Kids – Preventing and treating child abuse and neglect

Business Hours Over the Holiday Season
Closed: Wednesday 23rd December 2020
Re-opening: Monday 11th January 2021

For any urgent matters during this period, please call mobile 0419 833 777.

The team at the Fintech sincerely wish you a very safe and happy Christmas.

We look forward to working with you in 2021 and into the long term.

Merry Christmas