Page 3059 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 11 September 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
replacement program was highlighted in the Else-Mitchell report. To remedy this failure, ACTION will receive an allocation of $13.6m for the purchase of 52 replacement buses and four midi-size buses for inner city use. A similar level of replacement is planned in 1991-92. The refurbishment of old buses will cease by June 1992. An amount of $4.8m will be spent on upgrading hospital equipment including new cardiac catheter equipment at Woden Valley Hospital to complement the redevelopment of that major facility.
I turn now to the revenue measures. On the revenue side, on 29 May I announced changes to rates, land tax, motor vehicle registration charges, TAFE fees and a tax on X-rated videos to be effective from 1 July to achieve a full year impact. After the Premiers Conference, the Government announced changes to financial institutions duty and payroll tax arrangements in line with New South Wales and Victoria. Although these measures are designed to achieve greater revenue, I am pleased to say that the payroll tax changes will have the additional benefit of providing significant relief to small businesses.
From 1 October, a single tax rate of 7 per cent will apply to all payrolls above an exemption threshold of $500,000. The existing threshold is $432,000. These changes will result in employers with an Australia-wide payroll of less than $3.5m paying less payroll tax. I am determined that in the future small businesses will not pay a disproportionate share of taxes when compared with their counterparts in the States. Revenue measures, additional to those already announced, have been necessary. The annual dividend from ACTEW has been increased from $5m in 1989-90 to $8m this year. Subsequent to the Premiers Conference, I indicated that the revenue achieved from petroleum franchise fees would be devoted to the capital budget.
Because of the high cost of hospital redevelopment and the need to finance a range of other essential works, the Government has now decided to align the level of this fee with the New South Wales rate of 6.5 cents per litre from 1 October 1990. New South Wales has stated that its current rate will be maintained for two years, and our decision applies for that period. This will generate an extra $8m in 1990-91, and $12m in a full year.
Changes to gaming machine taxation scales will be introduced on 1 October. The new scale is a progressive one based on monthly gross revenue. New rates of between 5 per cent and 20 per cent replace the old rates of between 12.5 per cent and 16 per cent. The new scale will assist smaller clubs which currently pay more tax than their New South Wales counterparts. The new rates will achieve additional revenue in the order of $1.8m in a full year. These revenue measures will produce total additional revenue of $36m in 1990-91 and $46m in a full year.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .