Salary sacrifice expenses (ETF 75)

A1B.37.

Salary sacrifice expenses (ETF 75) record the expenses of benefits supplied by a public sector employer to employees under a salary sacrifice arrangement. These expenses are collected as part of the AGFS15 for national accounting purposes and contains details not normally used in GFS. Paragraph 7.47 of the 2008 SNA describes a salary sacrifice as a benefit such as a car or extra superannuation contributions that may be 'purchased' by the employee from the employer by foregoing some salary. Items can only be purchased in this way through a specific salary sacrifice agreement between the employer and the individual employee. The attraction of a salary sacrifice arrangement lies in the tax advantages of purchasing items under such a scheme. For example, a car bought by the employer and sold to the employee is taxed at a lower rate than a car purchased by an individual; and superannuation contributions are taxed differently from other income if deducted at source. Whether or not an employer provides benefits under salary sacrifice arrangements for employees is dependent on the employer's willingness to do so, and is not a mandatory part of the conditions of employment.

A1B.38.

In the ABS GFS, salary sacrifice expenses (ETF 75) are further classified as salary sacrifice expenses (ETF 751).