Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .
Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 3 Hansard (10 April) . . Page.. 835 ..
MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (10.32): I present the Debits Tax Bill 1997, together with the explanatory memorandum.
Title read by Clerk.
MRS CARNELL: I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
Mr Speaker, this Bill provides for the introduction of debits tax in the ACT from 1 July 1997. Debits tax is imposed on cheque accounts and accounts having cheque facilities held by banks, credit unions and building societies. The Bill will bring the ACT into line with all States and the Northern Territory, which all impose debits tax on such accounts.
The Debits Tax Bill proposes to tax the following debits: A taxable debit to a taxable account, which is an ACT account with a financial institution, on which a cheque may be drawn or on which a cheque facility is available; an eligible debit to an exempt account, which is a debit that should have attracted the tax and should not have been made to an exempt account - where this occurs the account holder and not the financial institution may be required to pay the tax; and an eligible debit to an account held outside the ACT by an ACT resident, where it has been determined that the debit was made to avoid debits tax in the ACT. This last provision is necessary as an anti-avoidance mechanism to prevent persons resident in the ACT from holding accounts outside the ACT to avoid paying Territory taxes.
The Bill provides for exempt debits which do not attract the tax. These include debits made by financial institutions to accounts to reverse an incorrect credit; to deduct income tax payments in respect of interest earned on an account where a tax file number has not been provided; to recover debits tax or financial institutions duty from account holders; and to exempt non-business Commonwealth departments and authorities and other persons or organisations exempted by Commonwealth laws, where an exemption certificate is held on that account.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .