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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 13 Hansard (2 December) . . Page.. 4347 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

Mr Speaker, the practice of salary sacrifice, which is essentially the art, if you can call it that, of sacrificing salary and saving payroll tax and other sorts of taxes and paying superannuation benefits in lieu thereof, has been talked about many times in the past. So far as payroll tax is concerned, if it were not for the administrative arrangements in the ACT it is possible that there would have been some salary sacrifice for employers - that is, employers who were not good corporate citizens - by doing deals which would cost the Territory revenue. This Bill sets out to close that door and in that sense it is a good idea. Mr Speaker, this is a sensible piece of legislation that has arisen with the passage of time and experience with the collection of this tax for superannuation contributions. It will now close the door on any question about the Government's right to collect the tax and the protection of previous taxes that it has collected.

MR MOORE (8.31): I see this as a budget Bill and therefore I will be supporting it. I think the aim of ensuring that superannuation is included in the concept of wages for the purpose of assessing the payroll tax payable is appropriate. The policy was announced in the budget in 1996. Although this legislation carries with it some sense of retrospectivity, it still fits in with the normal approach whereby a budget announcement is considered an appropriate tool by which to set a time when legislation will take effect. Even if some people feel that that is not appropriate, my understanding is that at the moment there are no taxpayers who would be in breach of this legislation anyway so it would not have a retrospective effect that changes something for any individual. Mr Speaker, it seems to me that this method of validation will at least ensure that the Territory's revenues are appropriately collected.

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (8.32), in reply: I thank members for their support.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill agreed to in principle.

Leave granted to dispense with the detail stage.

Bill agreed to.

Motion (by Mrs Carnell) agreed to, with the concurrence of an absolute majority:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent order of the day No. 14, private members business, relating to the Financial Management (Amendment) Bill 1997, being called on immediately after the resolution of any question relating to the conclusion of consideration of order of the day No. 6, Executive business, relating to the Financial Management (Amendment) Bill (No. 2) 1997.

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