Page 1328 - Week 07 - Thursday, 24 August 1989
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February and May. For some of us, of course, it will not make any difference at all that those dates are changed, but those who have to budget carefully and make sure that they have the money to pay their rates will need to note that next year they will have to make their first payment two months earlier than they have done in the past or that they will be required to do this year.
The second essential change in this legislation is that there are discounts now being proposed for those who pay their rates on time and there are penalties for those who do not. I commend the Government on this particular initiative. I think for too long there has been little incentive for people to actually pay their rates when they fall due, or in some cases to pay them at all. I understand that there have been in the past quite significant backlogs in the collection of rates.
I think that this carrot and sword, if you like, whereby if they pay their rates early or on time they get a five per cent discount - and that applies from this year, not next - and if they do not pay their rates they become subject to a 20 per cent per year interest charge on their unpaid rates, is a very good move that should encourage people to pay their rates when they become due, as most of us do, and will discourage those people who drag their ball and chain at the expense of the rest of the community. So I believe that that is a good initiative.
I note also that the Rates and Land Tax (Amendment) Bill 1989, for the first time in the ACT, incorporates into the legislation itself the annual levels of rates that apply. It has not been done before. It has been done simply by ministerial determination. The Minister, having determined how much needed to be collected in rates, has had a look at his valuations register and has said, "In order to collect the necessary amount of dollars this year, we need to apply a rate of 1.125 per cent to the unimproved value of the land", and that has been done by ministerial determination.
We are now incorporating this into the Bill, and also in the case of land tax. I will be interested to see how that works out, because what that means is that each year, before the Government can proceed to collect its rates, it must now amend the Act, which has not previously been required. That means that its decisions to establish levels of rating will come under the scrutiny of the members of this house before they can be put into effect. So it should raise some interesting debate in future years about the levels of rates to be collected. The Minister, instead of being able to merely do it and argue later, is now going to have to argue beforehand, and I think that that could lead to some interesting debates on the question.
The only other comment that I would wish to make is that I note that, in putting forward these Bills, it is claimed that particularly this one on the general rate is revenue
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