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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 6 Hansard (23 May) . . Page.. 1557 ..
MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):
This bill also provides for an efficient approach to adjust gaming machine tax for hotels and taverns in accounting for the GST and also allows a less disruptive approach with respect to bookmakers in dealing with taxation issues confronting them.
As I said, I thank the opposition for its support.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Bill agreed to in principle.
Leave granted to dispense with the detail stage.
Bill agreed to.
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
MS TUCKER (11.07): This bill gives the government the power to include a tax as part of a fee or charge. The government says that it will allow GST to be incorporated into ACT government fees and charges. It will also ensure that the imposition of a fee or charge will not be open to legal challenge on the basis that it imposes a tax, or rather an amount that exceeds a fair recompense for the service rendered, in cases where the legislative power to make a subordinate law does not clearly authorise the imposition of a tax.
The Greens do not have a problem with fees and charges including an element of taxation. We believe that the setting of fees and charges is not just about recovering costs, but can also be used as an economic instrument to achieve particular policy objectives. For example, the Greens believe that fees and charges to allow particular activities should reflect the environmental damage done by such activities, with the result that some charges will be higher than others, depending on the activity, and not necessarily reflective of the administrative costs involved or the value of the service provided. In those cases, the higher charges are used to provide a disincentive for people to undertake those activities which are regarded as environmentally damaging.
I note that the scrutiny of bills committee raised some concerns with this bill. The committee pointed out that there is a longstanding principle that the raising of public revenue should be under the control of the parliament. Subordinate laws should only be imposing fees and charges that are a recompense for the service rendered. However, it is open to the Assembly to give the government the power to impose taxes through subordinate law by passing legislation which includes this power.
It is also the case that most of the regulations and determinations that set fees and charges are already disallowable. The Assembly therefore has the opportunity to review the level of the fee or charge, although after the determination has been made, and has
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