Should Politicians travel expenses be any different to a business owner?

There already exists a perfectly reasonable framework for deciding what should or shouldn’t be an expense payable by a Politician when their family travels with them on official business. Within our taxation legislation there is very clear rules on what is a personal travel expense and in no way supplemented by the Australian taxpayer. Why not apply the fringe benefits, entertainment and travel allowance rules adhered to by all Australian taxpayers to our politicians. As a business owner, I can claim the cost of my travel if it directly relates to my business, however, none of my families’ expenses if they accompany me. There are incidental costs such as a cab fare or a hotel room that maybe claimed, but any airfares, meals and entertainment are not claimable. Before anyone starts bemoaning how tough it is for a politician to be separated from the family, I’d suggest you talk to one of the tens of thousands of fly-in- fly- out workers throughout Australia. Quite often the self-employed FIFO can’t even claim the cost of their travel to their workplace.