Page 4013 - Week 13 - Thursday, 10 November 1994
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RATES AND LAND TAX (AMENDMENT) BILL (NO. 2) 1994
MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (10.38): I present the Rates and Land Tax (Amendment) Bill (No. 2) 1994.
Title read by Clerk.
MS FOLLETT: I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
Madam Speaker, this Bill amends the Rates and Land Tax Act 1926. The Act provides for the imposition of municipal rates and land tax in the Australian Capital Territory. This Bill amends the Act to more adequately reflect current land ownership requirements. It allows correction of any type of error in the valuation and determination of unimproved land values, and it provides greater objection and appeal rights to rate and land tax payers.
Madam Speaker, under the current Act an owner is defined as meaning the registered proprietor of an estate or interest in a parcel of land. It is therefore possible for sublessees and tenants of residential properties to register an interest in the property they occupy and be regarded as owners for the purposes of the Act. Such persons would be eligible for an exemption from land tax on the property as their principal place of residence. In this way, and obviously for some financial gain, they could assist their landlord to avoid paying the tax. To prevent this situation from occurring, the definitions of "lease" and "owner" in the Act have been amended. The new provisions restrict the application of the Act, in relation to any benefits provided, to persons holding land directly from the Crown.
The Bill also provides for the commissioner to redetermine land values where any error has occurred in the processes involved in establishing, setting and determining the unimproved land value, or where an error is duplicated in later valuations. Previously the Act allowed only errors of a clerical nature to be corrected. This is unduly restrictive and can operate to disadvantage rate and land tax payers. The new provision will therefore benefit those rate and land tax payers adversely affected by the determination of an incorrect value which has resulted in a higher rates and/or land tax assessment.
As a result of changes to information requirements of the Revenue Office, Madam Speaker, an opportunity arises to reduce the details that lessees and lessors are required to provide to the commissioner in transfer of land advices. Changes introduced by this Bill will remove the need to inform the commissioner of details relating to the purpose for which the land is used and the value of any goods transferred because of the transfer of the land.
Madam Speaker, rate and land tax payers' objection and appeal rights have been extended to persons who may be adversely affected by the following decisions of the commissioner: To not grant exemption to sites of benevolent institutions, churches and other buildings used exclusively for public worship, or buildings used exclusively for public charitable purposes; or to not pay interest on an overpaid amount of rates or land tax, or to pay interest only for a lesser period of time than the period in which an amount of rates or
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