Page 2780 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 21 November 1989
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Mr Moore made some comments this afternoon. Finance being received by governments from the confiscation of ill-gotten gains from the drug trade was an example that he gave. These industries thrive on the weak and the young in our community, and I have no problem whatsoever with these confiscated funds being used to fund the social welfare, health, and law and order problems caused by this terrible industry. I reject any suggestion that we can equate the funds that it is proposed to receive from taxing the pornographic industry in the ACT, which at the moment is legal, with the confiscation of property and moneys from illegal activities. I reject any suggestion of that totally, Mr Speaker.
However, I think that Mr Berry has really identified the Government's problem when the Bill fails tonight, and that is, quite clearly, the loss of revenue. Let me remind the Government of at least one other commitment it gave to the people of the ACT. This was to a tax that would go a long way to providing the shortfall that Mr Berry and the Chief Minister are concerned with and that Mr Duby has also mentioned. Mr Duby asked for some new tax or some way in which we could raise this money.
I do not think it will be any revelation to the members of this house if I refer to betterment tax. Let me read into the record, as I have done before, from the minority Labor Government's policy on ACT finance and budget. At the bottom of page 4 it says:
A major revenue initiative is to increase the maximum rate of betterment tax from 50 to up to 100% and to improve the enforcement of the tax. This will provide an extra $4 million to the ACT community by ensuring that capital gains from lease purpose changes granted by the ACT Government are made available to the community.
You will note, Mr Speaker, that the figure it is proposed to raise is $4m. Of course, Mr Speaker, as the Rally said during the election campaign, it believed that this figure of $4m was a rather conservative figure and, in fact, the figure could be more. However, what do we find in the budget papers? A betterment tax which we understand the Government over here finds is too difficult to implement. The Government seems to have some problems with it. It says it is going to implement it, Mr Speaker, but when the members get into government they reckon it is too difficult. They reckon they will introduce something that is a little bit easier.
However, Mr Speaker, I looked very carefully in the ACT Government's budget policy and nowhere did I find any reference to a tax on the X-rated video industry. If we are really going to draw a long bow, it may be possible to refer to the paragraph above the one that I have just quoted from. It says:
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