Page 1110 - Week 06 - Thursday, 27 July 1989
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The Bill amends the Rates and Land Tax Act 1926. The Rates and Land Tax Act makes provision for the levying, imposition and payment of rates and land tax on land in the Territory.
The amendments are to set the urban and rural general rate and land tax level for 1989-90 and introduce improvements in the administration of rates and land tax in the ACT. The Bill provides for the level of rates, previously set by the Minister by declaration in the Gazette, to be specified in the Act. This step has been taken in recognition of the importance of rates and land tax as a revenue raising measure for the ACT and therefore its impact on ACT residents.
The urban general rate for 1989-90 is 1.125 per cent of unimproved value. The rural rate will remain at half the urban rate, at 0.5625 per cent of unimproved value. Land tax is unchanged, at 0.75 per cent of unimproved value. In keeping with the Government's commitment not to increase rates to householders above inflation levels, average residential general rate payments will not increase in real terms.
Based on experience in the States and the Northern Territory, the introduction of an incentive of five per cent discount for ratepayers who elect to pay their account in full by the first instalment due date would result in an increase in the number of ratepayers electing to pay in full and would substantially help the Government's early cash flow. A five per cent discount compares favourably with the after tax benefit ratepayers would receive if they decided to continue to pay by instalments and invest the second, third and final instalment moneys until they were required to make a rates payment. The scheme is self-financing from interest earned from the early receipt of revenue and savings in administration costs.
Ratepayers who choose not to pay in full by the first instalment date, especially low income ratepayers, will be assisted by extending the interval between instalment dates. Existing instalment dates - 15 October, 15 December, 15 February and 15 April - concentrate payments in a six-month period. Changing the instalment dates to 15 August, 15 November, 15 February and 15 May extends the interval between instalments from two to three months and provides a more even cash flow to the Government throughout the financial year.
Land tax in the ACT is payable on rateable land, except where used for residential or primary production purposes. It is a general taxation measure which, in the States and the Northern Territory, is imposed and collected at State rather than municipal level, on a single payment basis. In the ACT, land tax may currently be paid by instalments with general rates. It is also set at a significantly lower level, at 0.75 per cent, than elsewhere in Australia, where
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