Page 6163 - Week 19 - Tuesday, 17 December 1991
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that taxes are applied to the club industry in the ACT. A lot of people spend their $10 or whatever on the poker machines and think the clubs have plenty of money, but the fact is that they have not. At the same time as clubs are expected to provide a vast range of services to the Territory they are expected to be a continual milking cow for the Government.
It should be pointed out that the rate of taxation that is applied to clubs has risen every year, from 10 per cent in 1987 to the current rate of 22.5 per cent in 1992. This Bill, of course, comes into effect from 1 January. I also note that there is going to be a refund to those people who have paid their licence fees already, on an annual basis, to the commissioner. To compensate for that loss of revenue, that refund, the clubs, on a temporary basis supposedly, are going to be charged a 24.5 per cent taxation rate from 1 January to 30 June 1992.
Like all citizens, whether they be corporate or private, I for one would have grave doubts about paying a temporary tax of 24.5 per cent and relying upon a future government to reduce that amount in the future. I look forward to hearing from the Chief Minister and, indeed, from the Leader of the Opposition, that any future government led by those respective organisations will give a solid cast-iron guarantee here and now that the rate will be dropped from 24.5 per cent to 22.5 per cent as of 1 July 1992. It is something that I certainly intend to make sure does occur. So, that deals with the taxation matters of the legislation.
In effect, this is a two-pronged Bill. The other matter that it addresses, as the Chief Minister said in her introductory speech, is the issue of preventing profits from gaming machines operated by clubs being distributed to private interests. This is something that everyone would support. Needless to say, in the ACT people assume that the profits that come from those gaming machines will go back to the benefit of members.
For the benefit of members, and perhaps members of the gallery who are not aware of why this is required, a certain situation has arisen in the Territory in relation to memberships. People know that we have a vast number of taverns throughout the Territory. As all good business people do, they have been lobbying for some time to have poker machines or gaming machines installed in their premises so as to be able to compete with the clubs that provide those facilities at their premises.
It would appear that under a loophole in the legislation there is nothing to prevent a mythical tavern in a suburb such as, say, O'Connor, the O'Connor Tavern, forming an O'Connor Social Club of some kind and inviting patrons to become members of that club, probably at no charge to the patron or with the supposed membership fee being paid by the proprietor. They could then transfer the licence, I
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