Taxpayer-funded business lunches: rorting the system or reinvigorating an industry?

Taylor Millicent
By Taylor Millicent January 20, 2025

If you’ve ever had an expenses card for your job, the rules are pretty clear. No unnecessary expenditure and no lavish lunches or drinks on the work dime. 

Well get ready to pop the confetti, because that could be about to change. 

wants to shout businesses to lunch on the taxpayer dollar. In a pre- announcement this week, the said their would apply to businesses with a turnover up to $10m. The would be able to claim a tax deduction of up to $20,000 for any work-related dining and entertainment for staff or clients. They did specify that alcohol would be excluded, as an FYI.

Rumour has it that whispers could be heard across the country on this grand idea, ranging from ‘stone the flamin crows!’ and ‘what the hell!’, through to words I’m unable to write on this blog. 

It’s a bitter pill to swallow. At a time when so many people are doing it tough and looking to the government for support in essential areas, spending millions of dollars on lunches doesn’t seem like a sure vote winner. It smells of the smug arrogance of the elite and wealthy, too lost in a world of lavish business lunches they’d like to charge back to the taxpayer vs the reality for many Aussies of mounting bills and skipping meals. 

But let’s play devil’s advocate for a moment. Think of the restaurants, cafes, pubs and clubs in your area. How are they doing?

In my town, things appear a little grim. One night last year, my husband and I went out for dinner on a Sunday night to a usually popular restaurant in the city. Between the hours of 6pm – 8pm, there were only 20 diners through the restaurant. Only one quarter of the space was being used. Now it was Sunday night, to be fair, but the empty, echoing spaces of that restaurant illustrate just how dire things are for the industry right now.

I’m doubtful that any of the owners of these venues would knock back a policy designed to bring more patrons through their doors. I’m sure they would welcome them with open arms. 

So beyond the facade of this ignorant policy, you can see how it perhaps made sense to some. But surely if Peter Dutton and the Coalition want to save the hospitality industry there are better ways to go about it? 

High operating costs are punishing venues. Could energy bill supplements – already offered to households – be offered to hospitality businesses? It helps keep costs down and if the discount comes directly off their bill, then it helps keep inflation down as well. 

The Coalition could offer better incentives for businesses to attract and retain apprentices. Many industries are experiencing severe workforce shortages and hospitality is no exception. Incentives to put on apprentices and help businesses keep them on while they’re studying fills shortage gaps, creates jobs and helps businesses to deliver their services.   

And this one is less about businesses and more common sense: they can implement more cost of living measures to put back in people’s pockets. People aren’t eating out because they can’t afford it. But if they’re saving money on groceries, energy bills and doctors appointments, then those savings could be used for a meal instead. 

I can’t tell you how any of these ideas measure up against the taxpayer-funded lunches light-bulb, because the Coalition policy hasn’t been costed. We don’t know how many millions we’d have to pay out for everyone’s salt and pepper squid. 

But if the Coalition is dogged in their determination to save the hospitality industry, I’m almost certain there’s a better way to go about it than taking money from people already struggling and throwing it towards free lunches. 

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