Urgent call from AFTA

THE Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) yesterday issued another rallying cry for its members to maintain the pressure on local Members of Parliament, in the lead-up to post-budget discussions by politicians in Canberra next week.

The last-ditch efforts include an analysis by the Federation which indicates that less than a quarter of travel agents will actually benefit from the Loss Carry Back provision announced by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg that AFTA had lobbied for in last month’s Budget submission (TD 02 Sep).

A letter to AFTA members yesterday obtained by Travel Daily urges them to email and also phone their local Federal MP today to explain why the Loss Carry Back measures are ineffective for the industry.

“With AFTA CEO Darren Rudd currently in Canberra pushing our case for tailored support, we need you to keep up the pressure on your behalf,” the letter says.

“While AFTA did ask for a Loss Carry Back, the approach taken in the Federal Budget doesn’t actually help many travel agents.”

Sample wording in the letter suggests agents tell politicians that “while JobKeeper has helped offset some of the impact, the reality is that I simply don’t have the losses in FY20 to make the Loss Carry Back provision meaningful.

“This is because I did the responsible thing as a business owner and moved immediately on the closure of the international border to reduce as many of my overheads as possible... this means I, like most agents, generated only very small losses in FY20,” the advice continues.

The letter cites AFTA analysis based on a WA sample which shows just 14% of agents will benefit from the provision.

“Additionally agencies that are set up as family trusts, unit trusts, partnerships or a sole trader do not qualify as corporate tax entities,” it adds, noting that AFTA has over 1,300 sole traders operating a travel agency business, none of whom qualify.

Politicians are being asked to share these concerns with the Government as a matter of urgency, and to also raise them in party meetings next week.

It’s understood that influencing several key backbenchers is seen to be of great importance, including Angie Bell (Moncrieff Qld), Tim Wilson (Goldstein Vic), Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney NSW), Nicolle Flint (Boothby SA) and Pat Conaghan (Cowper NSW).

WA agents Christine Ross-Davies and Jo Francis, who have been leading the charge on behalf of the industry for months, said “this is critical, we need to ensure every MP hears from their local travel agent before next week”.