Page 1773 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 7 June 2016
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rates up to a determined limit or cap. This cap will continue at $700 per property in 2016-17. There are 12,000 properties across the ACT that are currently eligible for the capped rebate.
Additionally, any pensioners eligible for a rebate under either the uncapped or capped rates rebate scheme also received a rebate on the fire and emergency services levy. It has become apparent that whilst these rebate schemes provide important assistance to pensioners across the ACT, there is an inequity in the level of assistance provided by the uncapped and capped schemes. For example, neighbours with similar properties in similar circumstances in the same suburb, even in the same street, could be receiving very different levels of rate rebates as one is participating in the uncapped rebate scheme and the other in the capped scheme.
This bill addresses this issue by reducing the gap between the uncapped and capped scheme over time, improving the equity of the program and addressing the current disparity. From 1 July 2016, the uncapped scheme will be amended and the rebate amount available to participants will be the lesser of the amount the person received as a rebate in the previous year or 50 per cent of their rates liability. In essence, this bill freezes the rebate amount available to uncapped rates rebate scheme participants. As I said earlier, there will be no changes to the capped rebate scheme, with the 50 per cent rebate still available up to the determined cap in 2016-17 of $700.
The bill has been carefully drafted to ensure the least possible impacts on pensioners. Should a person in the uncapped program receive a rebate as a result of the amendments that is less than or equal to the determined capped rebate amount for that year, that person will transition from the uncapped to the capped scheme. This ensures that no pensioner will have their rebate capped at an amount less than the rebate cap.
In conjunction with the rates rebates amendments, the rebate for the fire and emergency services levy will in future be determined by disallowable instrument rather than the automatic 50 per cent concession. In the 2016-17 budget the rebate has been set at $98. This better aligns the levy rebate with the general rates rebate, which is likewise subject to a cap set by disallowable instrument.
This bill presents fiscally responsible amendments that limit the growth of rebate amounts indefinitely into the future. The bill is structured, however, to have as little impact on households as possible. Freezing the uncapped rebate amount rather than reducing it or ceasing the program altogether maintains the level of assistance currently provided to eligible pensioners whilst closing the gap between capped and uncapped recipients.
I have announced in the budget that these changes will commence on 1 July 2016. To ensure confidence and clarity, I will enact a disallowable instrument under the existing powers in the Taxation Administration Act to introduce these changes, and the Assembly will, of course, consider this bill in August.
This bill represents just one step in ensuring the fairness and sustainability of the concessions program, and it reinforces the government’s commitment in the budget of providing an extra $35 million in funding to concessions and assistance for those who need it most. I commend this bill to the Assembly.
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