Page 4622 - Week 16 - Tuesday, 27 November 1990
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Opposition has supported this amendment to FID tax in a general way. However, Ms Follett raised some very reasonable points which, I believe, require some explanation in terms of just getting the debate right.
In the first place, she raised the point - and I believe it was also taken up by Mr Stevenson - in relation to the time factor of the presentation of this Bill and its passing. From the outset, let me say that, whilst the support provided by the Labor Party has been welcomed, it has also been expected. In other words, the view has always been taken by the Government that this particular piece of legislation would be supported by the majority of members of this Assembly with no difficulty.
Secondly, I think it should be pointed out also that one of the reasons for the rush, or the short timeframe and the usual seven days being reduced to three, was that, in the original announcement that they would reduce what is commonly known as BAD tax and seek to impose those conditions upon the Territory, the Commonwealth announced that that would apply from 1 December this year. In other words, this was really the last sitting session in which this Bill could be introduced.
I can well understand that it could be said that we should have introduced the Bill earlier. I must point out, again, that it was always anticipated that the majority of members of this Assembly would support the tax.
Mr Stevenson: What has that to do with it?
MR DUBY: The increase in tax of the financial institutions duty. I would like to just repeat what this particular Bill attempts to do. Basically, it increases the level of financial institutions duty by 0.02 per cent - or 0.02c in the dollar. It increases the rate from 0.06c in the dollar to 0.08c in the dollar. It is a consequence, as I said earlier, of the decision of the Commonwealth Government to abolish the Commonwealth debits tax, or BAD tax, as it is usually called, and to reduce financial assistance grants to the States and Territories in proportion to estimated receipts from the tax.
States and Territories are expected to take up the additional revenue capacity available to them after the Commonwealth vacates this particular field of taxation. As I said in my presentation speech on this Bill, I understand that all other States and the Northern Territory are intending to introduce debits tax legislation - in other words, State BAD taxes - to fill that gap. However, I think it should be pointed out that the ACT, for the sake of simplicity, has decided simply to raise the financial institutions duty tax, the FID tax, by a measure comparable with the estimated loss of revenues from the loss of BAD tax.
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