Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has praised faith leaders for working to successfully “push back” against a proposal to remove tax deductibility for school building funds – a mechanism that delivers further public subsidisation of mostly religious and wealthy private schools.
In a speech to the Christian Prayer Breakfast in Canberra last week, Mr Dutton said faith leaders had provided the Coalition with “guidance” in countering “weighty issues” such as religious discrimination and school building funds.
“I want to say thank you for the guidance that you’ve given us and for the solidarity you provided with us in our pushback against a couple of issues. Religious discrimination is one. And there was a proposal, as you know, to limit tax deductibility particularly for building funds for Christian schools and others that would have been adversely affected by that measure,” he said.
“And the way in which faith leaders came together and presented a united voice, not just to us but to the public through the media presentation, is a great credit to you. And I want to say thank you very much for the work that you did in that regard.”
Earlier this year, the Productivity Commission recommended the removal of Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status for school building funds, saying there was a “material risk” donors could convert tax‑deductible donations into private benefits – that is, the reduction of school fees. The Commission also said the richest 10 per cent of schools received 83 per cent of donations.
Under pressure from religious lobbyists, the minister responsible for the charities sector, Andrew Leigh, ruled out any changes to DGR status for school building funds almost as soon as the Commission’s report was released in July.
In a letter to the Atheist Foundation of Australia’s communications manager, Russell Hanna, in September, Dr Leigh said he “noted” the organisation’s concerns about the availability of tax concessions for religious schools.
“…I have announced the government will not be changing the school building fund Deductible Gift Recipient category in response to the Commission’s recommendations,” Dr Leigh wrote.
The Productivity Commission also recommended the removal of the ‘Basic Religious Charities’ (BRCs) category in order to “enhance regulatory consistency and public transparency”.
The Rationalist Society of Australia has called on Dr Leigh to support the recommendation and take action on BRCs to restore public confidence in the nation’s charities system.
In his letter to the Atheist Foundation of Australia, Dr Leigh said the government was continuing to consider the Productivity Commission’s recommendations regarding BRCs.
“I have noted your views on these recommendations, and they will assist my consideration of a response to them.”
At the Christian Prayer Breakfast, Mr Dutton said the Christian message was “more important than ever” and also prayed “may we work hard to spread the Christian message” throughout Australia.
The Rationalist Society of Australia is actively campaigning for reform of the charities sector. Follow our campaign updates here.
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Si Gladman is Executive Director of the Rationalist Society of Australia. He also hosts ‘The Secular Agenda’ podcast.
Image: Peter Dutton (Facebook)