Page 516 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 10 February 2009
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The boost will provide an additional $7,000 to first home buyers purchasing an established home and $14,000 to first home buyers purchasing a newly constructed home. To receive the boost contracts must be signed on or after 14 October 2008 and before 30 June 2009. First home buyers who are eligible to receive the first home owner grant and the boost may receive up to $21,000 in grants.
A number of changes are proposed to the Duties Act 1999 which will improve and strengthen the current provisions. The ACT’s exemption for residential leases will be moved so that it continues to apply to long-term leases when duty on short-term leases is abolished on 1 July 2009. Current landholder provisions will also be strengthened by preventing declarations of trust from being used as a vehicle to avoid landholder duty.
The amendments will also introduce an exemption from landholder duty for certain types of property trust restructures that currently attract capital gains tax relief from the Australian government. Having this exemption in the ACT will also help ensure that tax incentives for investment in the ACT’s property market are as attractive as those in NSW and Victoria.
The Payroll Tax Bill 2009 will update payroll tax provisions and further harmonise provisions with other jurisdictions. Costs associated with complying with varying provisions across a number of jurisdictions are significant issues for employers. This added harmonisation of the ACT payroll tax provisions will significantly reduce the burden on businesses.
A Road Transport (Third-Party Insurance) Amendment Bill 2009 will continue reform of compulsory third-party insurance in the territory by amending the Road Transport (Third-Party Insurance) Act that was passed in February 2008. It incorporates provisions concerning CTP insurance for unregistered vehicles with trader’s plates and unregistered vehicle permits into the principal act. Additionally, it clarifies costs provisions for mandatory final offers.
Action is also to be taken on the Unlawful Games Act 1984 which has become outdated and does not properly achieve the desired regulatory outcomes. This act, along with two associated statutes—the Games, Wagers and Betting Houses Act 1901 and the Gaming and Betting Act 1906—will be combined and completely redrafted following an extensive public consultation process. The revised legislation, the Unlawful Gambling Bill 2009, will remove ambiguities, update penalty provisions and, importantly, address the policy issues of tournament gaming, private or social gaming and charitable gaming.
An important matter that affects us all is climate change. The government has demonstrated its concern by establishing the Department of the Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Water and by promulgating our climate change agenda and strategy. To build on this, an Electricity Feed-in (Renewable Energy Premium) Amendment Bill 2009 will be introduced to bring forward implementation of the feed-in tariff. The scheme will be the most generous in the country, and a key initiative of the government’s response to climate changes outlined in the Weathering the Change strategy. The bill will clarify generator eligibility and reimbursement arrangements for electricity retailers.
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