Page 3236 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 22 August 2012
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I am disappointed that I have had to bring this motion before the Assembly. But the weight of concern from the business community has been too large to ignore, and the consequences of not doing anything can only harm the prospects for the ACT economy of becoming more competitive and more prosperous. I commend the motion to the Assembly.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation) (5.43): The government will not be supporting the motion, as it improperly interferes in the administration of tax laws. Even more seriously, the motion seeks to suspend ongoing legal processes through the imposition of a four-month moratorium on legal action by the Revenue Office.
With this motion it appears that the opposition are suggesting that the legislature should interfere with the operation of matters before the judiciary. It is not, I stress, improper to seek to challenge the administration of taxation; nor is it improper to challenge tax law. But there are accepted and legitimate processes that can be exercised where a taxpayer believes that the commissioner has administered the tax law inappropriately.
Taxpayers have a range of objection and appeal mechanisms that they can exercise. Likewise, the commissioner may legitimately contest the propositions of a taxpayer. Tribunal and court procedures are the appropriate fora where complex matters of fact and law can be tested and challenged by all parties.
The Commissioner for Revenue is, by statute, an independent officer. As such, neither the executive nor the legislature can interfere in the execution of their duties under the legislation. Our tax laws impose a range of obligations, powers and discretions on the Commissioner for ACT Revenue. These powers cannot be exercised under direction from any person or entity. The commissioner must exercise these powers, functions and discretions independently and without the influence of any external third party.
The collection of revenue and the administration of taxation, which is conducted according to proper processes and laws, should be independent of politics and not subject to political interference such as we are witnessing today. This attempt at a moratorium seeks to politicise and interfere with the collection of taxation.
There are of course very good reasons why we have legislated that the commission should be an independent body. It is so that taxpayers within the territory can have confidence that the work of the commissioner is not influenced by special interest groups, taxpayers’ details are kept secret and taxpayers’ issues are dealt with fairly and equitably. Different taxpayers in the same circumstance should be dealt with consistently in the context of and with reference to the legislation that we as an Assembly have approved. So we should simply let the commissioner do that job.
The ACT Revenue Office operates according to legislation and prescribed guidelines on the collection of payroll tax. The government supports the independence and the
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