Page 2328 - Week 08 - Thursday, 7 June 1990
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MR DUBY (Minister for Finance and Urban Services) (4.53), in reply: Mr Speaker, the Rates and Land Tax Act provides for the imposition of municipal rates and land tax in the Australian Capital Territory. This Bill will amend that Act by altering the urban, rural and land tax rates. It provides for changes in debt recovery and administrative measures which will complement the initiatives introduced last year by way of early payment discount arrangements and interest charges on overdue accounts.
Additional revenue from increases in the urban, rural and land tax rates is expected to gross $14m in 1990-91 and provide a much-needed boost in funds required to meet the costs of providing municipal services in the Australian Capital Territory. In particular, the revenue will reduce the Territory's dependence on borrowings to fund capital works.
The recommendations in the Standing Committee on Conservation, Heritage and Environment's report on commercial and domestic waste management will also be dealt with from these funds. The overall effect of the increased rates will be to achieve a balanced municipal budget in accordance with Alliance policy, while ensuring that service costs in the Australian Capital Territory are comparable to the costs of comparable services elsewhere. For the future, lower debt levels will contain debt servicing costs and their negative economic aspects.
The opportunity has also been taken to further streamline rates and land tax administrative processes and compliance measures. The amendments which provide for debts to be recovered from a debtor of a ratepayer and prevent interest on unpaid rates and land tax from being reduced by judgment entered in a court will not only ensure the effectiveness of recovery measures but also provide for further consistency in recovery procedures under the ACT revenue laws administered by the Commissioner for ACT Revenue.
A longstanding anomaly in relation to the date of effect for rates and land tax purposes of alterations to the unimproved valuation of land has also been corrected. Under the proposals in this Bill, where valuations of land are changed because of clerical error or a change of circumstances, the date of applying rates or land tax charges will now be, in the case of a clerical error, the date that would have applied had the error not occurred and, in the case of any change of circumstance, the date of that change in circumstance.
Previously, in these situations rates and land tax charges would have applied from 1 July following the redetermination of the new land valuation in either case and resulted in rates and/or land tax charges prior to 1 July being forgone where the property revaluation was higher, or a remission of rates having to be processed for the period prior to 1 July where the property revaluation was lower.
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