Page 3682 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 13 September 2017

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of the Opposition for raising this issue. I now move the amendment that has been circulated in my name:

Omit all words after (1), substitute:

“notes:

(a) unlike other jurisdictions, general rates in the ACT fund both municipal level services and state government equivalent services, such as our hospitals, schools and transport infrastructure;

(b) the changes to the methodology for calculating general rates on units are intended to bring more equity into the tax system, as previously unit holders with very valuable properties were contributing significantly less in rates than owners of freestanding homes with lower values;

(c) even after the change in rates calculation methodology for units, over 90 per cent of unit holders pay rates as if they were in the lowest two marginal rating categories;

(d) average rates on units across the ACT are $1352 per year, compared with $2295 per year for freestanding homes; and

(e) the ACT Government models the impact of tax policy changes based on property values rather than incomes because:

(i) the Government does not have access to comprehensive data on the incomes of Territory residents; and

(ii) land-based taxation protects the progressive nature of the ACT’s tax system;

(2) further notes that the ACT’s rates system includes a number of concessions and deferments supporting more than 18 000 people, and that:

(a) these concessions were last examined as part of the Government’s major Concessions Review in 2015-16;

(b) this review resulted in the Government allocating an additional $35 million over four years to the concessions program in the 2016 Budget;

(d) eligibility for the current concessions program is assessed according to varying criteria and these need to be reviewed regularly to make sure they provide adequate support for low-income households;

(3) acknowledges that, while the tax reform process is widely supported as an economic reform:

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