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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 4 Hansard (30 March) . . Page.. 1160 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

� the Goods and Services Tax Administration sub-committee considers the means by which the Ministerial Council would monitor the Commonwealth's compliance with paragraph 5 (v) of the IGA. The sub-committee is to provide a report on this matter for the next HoTs meeting in July 2000; and

� an SPP database is put in place to more accurately determine SPP estimates. As part of the States' SPP working group process, the ACT has a lead role in working with the Federal Department of Finance and Administration in developing this database.

Mr Speaker, the Council Meeting also progressed a number of important GST related issues.

� It considered a number of Ministerial determinations, including the Division 81 determination, gazetted on 1 March 2000, containing a list of Commonwealth, State and Territory taxes and charges that will not be subject to the GST.

� The Council also noted that all jurisdictions have made considerable progress in implementing the First Home Owners Scheme with all jurisdictions anticipating the passage of the necessary legislation prior to the commencement date of 1 July 2000, with promotional activities due to commence shortly to alert first home buyers to the existence of the $7,000 grant for home purchases after 1 July 2000.

� Finally, the Council secured the Commonwealth Treasurer's commitment to consider further relief for charities affected by the GST.

Mr Speaker, as the newly constituted forum for ongoing deliberations on Commonwealth-State Financial Relations, a number of other non GST related subjects were also discussed, including:

� the agreement to a target date for implementing a National Tax Equivalent Regime for income tax for State and Territory government business enterprise of 1 July 2001, which is a requirement of the IGA; and

� the agreement to progress the reciprocal application of other Commonwealth, State and Territory taxes on a revenue neutral basis as soon as practicable.

The biggest disappointment of the meeting, however, Mr Speaker, was that the Commonwealth refused to accept the arbitrated outcome in the dispute over the Hospital Costs Index issue. At the States-only Meeting of Treasurers on the eve of the Council Meeting, State and Territory Treasurers had agreed to raise this issue with the Commonwealth.

The Australian Health Care Agreement Grants are adjusted each year by an index, which should take account of the increase in hospitals' costs. The Commonwealth's failure to agree an index means a default index of 0.5 per cent applies.

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