Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services, Housing, Youth and Women) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Tax Laws Amendment (2007 Measures No. 2) Bill 2007. I want to focus my comments on schedules 5 and 6 of the legislation. Schedule 5 will amend the list of deductible gift recipients in the tax legislation. Deductible gift recipient status will assist the listed organisations to attract public support for their activities. Schedule 6 of the bill amends the tax legislation by extending the eligibility for tax deductions for contributions to deductible gift recipients where an associated minor benefit is received with an eligible fundraising event.

The government says that what they call the improvements to the taxation deductibility provisions provide further support to encourage greater philanthropy in the community. Naturally, Labor support measures that encourage philanthropy in the community. We are pleased to see that this bill will lift some of the restrictions on the kinds of gifts which can be donated to organisations with deductible gift recipient status. Of course we support those changes.

I want to talk more broadly about deductible gift recipient status and about charities more generally. We have a proud record in Australia of giving to charities. The 2005 report Giving Australia: research on philanthropy in Australia estimated that the total giving of money, goods and services to non-profit organisations by individuals and businesses was about $11 billion per year. I noticed just this week that new reports of giving to charities put my own state, New South Wales, at the top of the list per capita, having the most generous citizens when it comes to donating to charities.

See this speech in context