Page 2326 - Week 08 - Friday, 21 June 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
triennium land revaluations for the 1991-92 rating year and to introduce annual revaluations of ACT land and measures to improve the administration of the Act.
Currently, Mr Speaker, the unimproved land values determined at 1 January 1991 would not be available for use for rating purposes until 1 July 1992. This means that the land values are 18 months old at the time that they are first used. As the revaluations occur triennially, the land values are 4 years old at the end of the triennium. The use of these "aged" values for assessing land tax charges results in a loss of revenue in the second and third years of the triennium. Also, rate and land tax payers are sometimes faced with substantial increases in land values when the new values are introduced at the start of the new triennium.
The proposed amendments to the Act therefore provide for the land values determined at 1 January 1991 to be used for rating purposes as from 1 July 1991; that is, 12 months earlier than is currently provided for in the Act. The use of these values within six months enables rate and land tax payers to more readily associate the unimproved land value with the market value of the property, thereby gaining greater acceptance of any change in value. Consequently, there should be fewer objections to changed values.
At the same time an amendment providing for annual revaluations will complement this change, ensuring that wide variations to land values are minimised and revenue from land tax charges will also more accurately reflect current unimproved land values.
In the process of recovering overdue rates and land tax the ACT Revenue Office sometimes incurs additional costs which are recoverable from debtors. If the land is sold the debt remains with the seller and because these costs are not a charge on the land, as are primary rates and land tax charges, it is possible for the property to be sold without the debt being discharged. Loss of revenue can occur if the defaulting payer is unable to be traced to have the debt discharged.
Mr Speaker, an amendment proposed in Bill No. 1 provides for these costs to become charges on the land, thereby ensuring that the costs, if not recovered earlier, will ultimately be taken into account and recovered when the property is sold. Bill No. 1 also provides for a ratepayer to be unable to receive a discount on the current year's rates while still owing rates from a previous year. This removes an undesirable situation which is inequitable to ratepayers meeting their total rating obligations each year.
The Government is also proposing that the second, third and final rates instalments are to be in whole dollar amounts, while the first instalment will contain the remaining amount, including the odd cents. This change will provide
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .