Taxation Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2002

Taxation Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2002

An Act to amend the Land Tax Act 2000 and the Taxation Administration Act 1997

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

1.   Short title

This Act may be cited as the Taxation Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2002 .

2.   Commencement

(1)  Section 3 and Schedule 1 are taken to have commenced on 1 July 2001.

(2)  The remaining provisions of this Act commence on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.

3.    Land Tax Act 2000 amended

The legislation specified in Schedule 1 is amended as specified in that Schedule.

4.    Taxation Administration Act 1997 amended

The legislation specified in Schedule 2 is amended as specified in that Schedule.

SCHEDULE 1 - Land Tax Act 2000 amended

Section 3

1.    Section 3 is amended as follows:

(a) by inserting the following definition after the definition of assessed land value :

assessment means assessment as defined in the Taxation Administration Act 1997 ;

(b) by inserting the following definition after the definition of home-unit company :

interest means interest as defined in the Taxation Administration Act 1997 ;

(c) by inserting the following definition after the definition of land value :

penalty tax means a penalty tax as defined in the Taxation Administration Act 1997 ;

(d) by inserting the following definitions after the definition of principal residence land :

private hospital means a privately owned institution the main object of which is to provide overnight accommodation for the treatment of –

(a) persons suffering from any illness, injury or infirmity; or

(b) pregnant women or women immediately after childbirth; or

(c) persons who are visually, hearing or speech impaired or who are substantially and permanently handicapped by any illness, injury or congenital deformity or by any other prescribed disability; or

(d) persons who are elderly and infirm;

reassessment means reassessment as defined in the Taxation Administration Act 1997 ;

(e) by omitting paragraph (b) from the definition of related person and substituting the following paragraph:

(b) if the owner is deceased, the beneficiary of the estate of the owner; or

(f) by inserting the following definition after the definition of retirement village company :

school means –

(a) a school as defined in the Education Act 1994 ; and

(b) a tertiary institution as defined in the Employment, Education and Training Act 1988 of the Commonwealth;

2.    Section 6(1) is amended by omitting "the owner or a related person of the" and substituting "an owner of at least 50% of the land or a related person of such an".

3.    Section 12 is amended by omitting subsection (1) and substituting the following subsections:

(1)  The Commissioner is to assess land tax payable in respect of land.

(1A)  If land tax is payable by an owner of land, the Commissioner is to issue to the owner –

(a) an assessment of land tax payable; and

(b) a demand for the payment of the land tax.

4.    Section 17(1) is amended by omitting paragraph (a) and substituting the following paragraph:

(a) Crown land;

5.    Section 18 is amended by omitting paragraph (h) and substituting the following paragraph:

(h) land owned by, or in trust for, or vested in, a community service organisation if –

(i) the organisation is exempt from payment of income tax under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 of the Commonwealth; and

(ii) the land is not primarily used to raise income for the organisation.

6.    Section 21(2) is amended by omitting "value of that land is to accord with the levels of value" and substituting "land value of that land is to accord with the land values".

7.    Section 24 is amended as follows:

(a) by inserting in subsection (1) "land" after "aggregate";

(b) by inserting in subsection (2) "land" after "aggregate".

8.    Section 25 is amended as follows:

(a) by inserting in paragraph (a) "land" after "the";

(b) by inserting in paragraph (b) "land" after "aggregate".

9.    Section 39 is amended by omitting subsections (2) and (3) and substituting the following subsections:

(2)  The owner of land, on the sale or transfer of that land, if there is a land value assessed in respect of that land, must pay –

(a) if the owner owns only that land, any amount of land tax owing and any penalty tax and interest payable; or

(b) if the owner owns additional land and no land tax is payable in respect of the land that is sold or transferred, the lesser of the following:

(i) the total amount of land tax owing and any penalty tax and interest payable;

(ii) the amount calculated by multiplying the total amount of land tax owing, and any penalty tax and interest payable, by the ratio of the land value of the land sold or transferred to the total land value of land owned at 1 July preceding the sale or transfer less any other land sold or transferred after that date; or

(c) if the owner owns additional land and land tax is payable in respect of the land that is sold or transferred, the lesser of the following:

(i) the total amount of land tax owing and any penalty tax and interest payable;

(ii) the amount calculated by multiplying the total amount of land tax owing, and any penalty tax and interest payable, by the ratio of the land value of the land sold or transferred to the total land value of land owned at 1 July preceding the sale or transfer less any other land sold or transferred after that date.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 10 penalty units.

(3)  The owner of land, on the sale or transfer of that land, if there is no land value assessed in respect of that land, must pay –

(a) if the owner owns only that land, any amount of land tax owing and any penalty tax and interest payable; or

(b) if the owner owns additional land, the lesser of the following:

(i) the total amount of land tax owing and any penalty tax and interest payable;

(ii) the amount calculated by multiplying the total amount of land tax owing, and any penalty tax and interest payable, by the ratio of the land area of the land sold or transferred to the total land area of land owned at 1 July preceding the sale or transfer less any other land sold or transferred after that date.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 10 penalty units.

(4)  For the purpose of calculating any amount under subsection (2)(c)(ii) , any land in respect of which no land tax is payable is to be excluded.

SCHEDULE 2 - Taxation Administration Act 1997 amended

Section 4

1.    Section 27 is amended by inserting after subsection (3) the following subsection:

(4)  An amount by which tax is overpaid is taken to be tax for the purpose of this Part.

2.    Section 35 is repealed and the following section is substituted:

35.   Interest rate

(1)  The interest rate is the sum of –

(a) the market rate component; and

(b) the premium component of 8% per annum.

(2)  The market rate component is –

(a) unless an order is in force under paragraph (b) , the Bank Accepted Bill rate rounded to the second decimal place (rounding 0.005 upwards); or

(b) the rate the Minister specifies by order published in the Gazette.

(3)  The Bank Accepted Bill rate in respect of any day is the yield rate for 90-day Bank Accepted Bills published by the Reserve Bank for the month of May in the financial year preceding the financial year in which the day occurs.

3.    Section 51(2) is amended by inserting after paragraph (d) the following paragraph:

(da) conditions requiring the payment of interest at the interest rate on any amount of tax not paid at the specified time; and

4.    Section 56 is amended by omitting subsection (2) and substituting the following subsections:

(2)  If 2 or more persons are jointly and severally liable to pay an amount of tax under a taxation law that is payable by any one of them, each person is also jointly and severally liable to pay –

(a) any amount payable to the Commissioner under a taxation law in relation to that amount, including any interest and penalty tax; and

(b) any costs and expenses incurred in relation to the recovery of that amount that the Commissioner is entitled to recover from any such person.

(3)  A person who pays an amount of tax in accordance with this section has rights of contribution or indemnity from the other person or persons as are just.

5.    Section 59 is amended by inserting after subsection (2) the following subsection:

(3)  The Commissioner may remit, in whole or in part, the payment of any interest required to be paid by a condition imposed under subsection (2) in any circumstances the Commissioner considers appropriate.

6.    Section 67 is amended by omitting subsections (1) and (2) and substituting the following subsections:

(1)  An authorised officer may take and retain possession of any record provided under section 65 or produced under section 71(1)(a) only –

(a) to enable the record to be inspected; and

(b) for copies of, or extracts or notes from, the record to be made or taken by or on behalf of the authorised officer.

(1A)  If a record is provided or produced to an authorised officer on the premises where the record is usually kept, the authorised officer may remove it from those premises only –

(a) with the consent of the owner, the occupier of the premises or the person in physical occupation of the premises; or

(b) if it is not practicable to inspect or copy, or take extracts or notes from, the record on the premises.

(1B)  An authorised officer may remove an instrument seized under section 71(1)(d) from the premises where the instrument is usually kept if any tax payable in respect of that instrument has not been paid.

(1C)  An authorised officer may retain possession of –

(a) an instrument if the instrument is seized under section 71(1)(d) , until the tax payable in respect of that instrument has been paid; or

(b) any other record for up to and including 28 days, without the consent of the person entitled to possession of it.

(2)  An authorised officer is to permit a person who would be entitled to inspect the record if it were not in the possession of the authorised officer to inspect the record at any reasonable time.

7.    Section 80 is amended by inserting after subsection (1) the following subsections:

(1A)  A decision of the Commissioner referred to in subsection (1)(b) does not include a refusal by the Commissioner to refund tax paid or purportedly paid.

(1B)  An amount by which tax is overpaid is taken to be tax for the purpose of subsection (1A) .

8.    Section 94 is repealed and the following section is substituted:

94.   Refund of amount

(1)  If a taxpayer's objection to an assessment is allowed in whole or in part or a taxpayer's review or appeal is upheld, the Commissioner must refund any amount paid in excess of a requirement for payment under the relevant taxation law.

(2)  If a taxpayer's objection to a decision other than an assessment is allowed in whole or in part or a taxpayer's review or appeal is upheld, the Commissioner must refund any amount paid in the relevant period in excess of a requirement for payment under the relevant taxation law.

(3)  A relevant period for the purpose of subsection (2) is a period of 3 years immediately preceding the earlier of the following:

(a) the date of the decision;

(b) if the decision was made in response to a written request from the taxpayer that included a description of the facts and circumstances on which the request was based, the date of the request for the decision.

9.    Schedule 1 is amended as follows:

(a) by inserting the following subclauses after subclause (2) in clause 5 :

(3) If a tax default occurred under a taxation law before the commencement day –

(a) the Commissioner may make an assessment under this Act of any additional tax that would have been payable or assessable under that taxation law in relation to the default; and

(b) this Act applies as if the additional tax were penalty tax.

(4) In this clause,

additional tax means an additional amount payable by way of tax, penalty tax, fine or duty under a taxation law as in force immediately before the commencement day.

(b) by inserting the following subclauses after subclause (3) in clause 10 :

(4) Section 80(1A) applies to –

(a) any refusal by the Commissioner to refund tax paid or purportedly paid that was made before the commencement of the Taxation Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2002; and

(b) a failure by the Commissioner to refund the tax within 3 months after the application for the refund is lodged that is taken to be a refusal to refund the tax.

(5) Section 94 applies to any assessment or decision made, any objection allowed or any review or appeal upheld before the commencement of the Taxation Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2002.

[Second reading presentation speech made in:

House of Assembly on 19 MARCH 2002

Legislative Council on 22 MAY 2002]