Australia to change luxury car tax to close EU trade deal
Australia is poised to amend the luxury car tax as part of concessions aimed at securing a free trade agreement with the European Union.
Negotiations between both parties have reportedly made significant progress, and a visit to Australia by the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, may be announced imminently.
The luxury car tax has been a contentious issue, with sources informing Australia that the current $80,000 threshold could be raised to at least $100,000. This adjustment would serve as a concession to European car manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Vehicles valued above the luxury car tax threshold are subject to a 33% LCT rate.
The Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, confirmed the government’s openness to including the luxury car tax thresholds in the free trade agreement discussions.
“We are trying to finalise that EU free trade deal as soon as we can,”
he said, paying tribute to the trade minister, Don Farrell, and the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong.
Two flights from Dubai land in Sydney and Melbourne
A second commercial flight arrived in Sydney last night from Dubai, while the first flight from the Middle Eastern hub reached Melbourne.
An Emirates aircraft landed in Sydney, with another arriving in Melbourne around 6:20 a.m. this morning. Additionally, a third plane from Abu Dhabi to Sydney is scheduled to arrive shortly after 9:30 a.m.
Passengers shared emotional experiences upon arrival.
“It’s just been so stressful hearing everything, and especially being five months pregnant and not knowing what’s happening,”
one traveller told the ABC last night.
Emirates and Etihad are currently operating limited flights until further notice, while Qatari airspace remains restricted.
With the partial reopening of airspace, Emirates is maintaining a reduced flight schedule. Further information is available at https://t.co/A2RdND1Gjr.
These flights are open for booking, and customers with earlier reservations are being prioritised.
Good morning, Nick Visser here to take on Friday’s news. Let’s get to it.
Tropical low brings severe weather to far north Queensland coast
Emergency services are prepared and sandbag stations have been established in towns along Queensland’s far north coast as heavy rain, flooding, and damaging winds are forecast for Friday. This is due to a tropical low tracking northeast of Cairns, according to an AAP report this morning.
A cyclone watch for the area was cancelled yesterday after the system was assessed as having a very low chance of intensifying before making landfall.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Angus Hines described the tropical low as “disconnected” and indicated it was likely to reach the coast by this afternoon between Cairns and Townsville. The system is expected to move southwest into central Queensland over the weekend.
“The disconnected tropical low was likely to reach the coast by this afternoon between Cairns and Townsville before moving south-west into central Queensland at the weekend,”
said Angus Hines.
Further updates will be provided throughout the day.
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer bringing you the latest breaking news before handing over to Nick Visser.
