Page 1141 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 March 1991
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I say in passing that we have received representations from persons representing developers in Canberra who have been very critical of this package. They have said that the introduction of a sliding scale, which in some cases will increase betterment from the 50 per cent which was previously generally payable, would spell gloom and doom for the development industry in Canberra. But they have been unable to substantiate those claims; so we are not prepared to object to the measures as introduced.
But, Mr Speaker, there is a very important point of principle about this betterment tax which will be critical today. While I will not be moving a substantive amendment, I give notice to the Government that this is something that Labor will be seeking to move substantive amendments on when we get to the stage of the final planning package, and that is the principle that important issues of taxation ought to be imposed by legislation, not by regulation. The tax regime which will be proposed by this Bill is, as we understand it from the Chief Minister's remarks, the schedule that was announced back in February. That has been made public in this Territory insofar as it was attached as a table to draft regulations that were proposed under the Land Administration Bill. It is public, in that it is part of that package of Bills and regulations that were circulated for public comment.
Mr Speaker, betterment tax is central to the leasehold system. Mr Moore is certainly correct in his repeated assertions of how central this concept of betterment is. It is central most importantly as a point of principle to the community, because it is an important source of revenue in a Territory where all land is owned by the community and where the benefit of improvements to the land ought to go to the community. It is of central importance also to persons who are proposing to invest in this Territory and whose investment decisions will, to some extent, depend upon the taxation regime in place.
Mr Speaker, it is bad in principle to have any taxation system dependent upon regulation rather than legislation, but particularly bad when we have such an important tax. This criticism has been made in the past by members of this Opposition. I can recall Mr Duby in a debate last year tending to agree that as a matter of principle the taxation regime ought to be imposed in legislation. I understand that when Labor was in government this was a point made in full rhetorical fury by Mr Humphries on one occasion. I would hope that, when it comes time to cement this policy in the comprehensive planning package, the Government will fix the tax regime - this table that we now have seen by way of draft regulations - by way of a schedule to the Act. No doubt the advantage that has been advised to the Government of doing it by way of regulation is that it is
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