Page 1644 - Week 06 - Thursday, 7 June 2007
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
The bill also clarifies that the definition of licensed motor vehicle dealers, as it pertains to a duty exemption, includes interstate dealers that are licensed under a “corresponding law” of another jurisdiction. This exemption applies to demonstrators and trading stock that are registered in the ACT and is consistent with the treatment of ACT motor vehicles in New South Wales under the Duties Act 1997.
The Land Tax Act requires the owner of a residential property in the ACT to notify the Commissioner for ACT Revenue when they rent that parcel of land to a tenant. However, in some cases, an owner may fail to notify the commissioner and later sell the property. When this occurs, there is the risk of the property transferring to the new owner clear of any charge on the land, because the ACT Revenue Office is, at that time, unaware of any land tax liability. The bill amends the Land Tax Act to make it clear that, in those circumstances, the commissioner can collect the unpaid land tax from the person that owned the land for the period it was liable.
Liability for ACT payroll tax is determined under section 2D of the Payroll Tax Act. The bill seeks to simplify and clarify section 2D to make it easier for employers to ascertain whether they have a liability for ACT payroll tax. It clarifies that a payroll tax liability is incurred for a month or a part of a month. This has always been the case. However, it was not made explicit in the legislation, relying instead on it being inferred from the requirement to lodge a monthly return. It also clarifies that wages paid in the ACT in relation to services performed in another country are part of the ACT payroll tax base.
These measures simply spell out how the current law operates in relation to payroll tax liability and there is no impact on revenue. The benefit of these changes will be seen in less confusion across the taxpayer base and will manifest as reductions in compliance costs and risk of penalties that will come through a better understanding of their liability.
The final amendment corrects an error contained in a formula in the Rates Act. This formula is used to calculate rates for certain properties that are being developed partly for residential and partly for commercial purposes. The ACT Revenue Office currently applies an interpretation of the legislation that acts in the taxpayer’s favour and this amendment reflects that practice.
I commend the Revenue Legislation Amendment Bill to the Assembly. 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.
Papers
Mr Corbell presented the following papers:
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .