Page 5065 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 17 November 2009
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I spoke to the minister’s office, and again I thank her staff for their assistance, about whether the lower rates will continue to apply. If the minister could clarify that in her speech I think it would take away some of the angst that the MTA has certainly raised.
There is another issue that I raised with the government, and again I thank them for the answer. The bill talks about the $45,000 threshold. The extra duty kicks in when $45,000 is reached. Of course, that threshold was introduced in 1999; so I actually asked the officials when the threshold was introduced and why it had not been amended or changed.
The question also was: has the government considered increasing the $45,000 threshold? What you purchased in 1999 is obviously somewhat different from what you can purchase in 2009. The answer provided was:
The proposed amendments are to clarify the current provisions that determine which vehicles with a value over $45,000 are subjected to a higher rate of duty.
Any changes to the threshold would need to be considered as part of the budget process as a separate exercise. The amendments do, however, provide the minister with the ability to change the threshold by determining a different amount under the Taxation Administration Act 1999.
So the second question that I would put to the minister is this: will the government look at the threshold? Is it still an appropriate threshold given changes in the value of the dollar from 2009 as opposed to 1999? Are they considering raising that or decreasing the threshold? If the minister could provide some clarification on that in her closing speech, that would be appreciated. Apart from those comments, the opposition will be supporting the bill.
I look forward to confirmation in the positive that this will not be an increased impost on individuals in the ACT, particularly in the small business community, during these difficult times. I look forward to the minister outlining what she will do about the $45,000 threshold.
MS HUNTER (Ginninderra—Parliamentary Convenor, ACT Greens) (10.41): The Greens support these amendments to the Duties Act 1999 as they appear reasonable changes that will assist the people of the ACT. The first amendment now includes a definition of “cancelled” that covers abandoned or terminated without completion with regard to agreements for the sale or transfer of dutiable property.
The amendment to the Family Law Act 1975 will include provisions for financial arrangements for de facto relationships, which will not override the existing exemption provisions for de facto relationships. The third amendment simply corrects a redundancy in the Taxation (Government Business Enterprises) Act 2003, where there were certain entities listed as liable for taxes and charges.
Lastly, terminology in this provision has been amended to clarify the intention of the legislation so that vehicles listed will pay a lower rate of duty and any uncertainty has been removed for taxpayers. The Greens welcome these amendments and the intent of these clarifications.
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