Business Undertakings Assistance (Land Tax Rebate) Regulations 2009

Business Undertakings Assistance (Land Tax Rebate) Regulations 2009

I, the Governor in and over the State of Tasmania and its Dependencies in the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Executive Council, make the following regulations under the Business Undertakings Assistance Act 1984 .

21 December 2009

PETER G. UNDERWOOD

Governor

By His Excellency's Command,

MICHAEL AIRD

Treasurer

1.   Short title

These regulations may be cited as the Business Undertakings Assistance (Land Tax Rebate) Regulations 2009 .

2.   Commencement

These regulations take effect on the day on which their making is notified in the Gazette.

3.   Interpretation

In these regulations –

Act means the Business Undertakings Assistance Act 1984 ;

charitable institution means an institution that is –

(a) in the opinion of the Commissioner, a religious institution;

(b) a charitable institution under the Land Tax Act 2000 ; or

(c) in the opinion of the Commissioner, a public educational institution;

Commissioner means the Commissioner of State Revenue appointed under the Taxation Administration Act 1997 ;

community service organisation means a body of persons who provide services, otherwise than for profit, to members of the public;

development of land means –

(a) the carrying out of improvements on the land for the purpose of enabling the land to be sold or leased; or

(b) the advertising of the land as being for sale or lease; or

(c) the sale or lease of the land;

land-based business undertaking means an undertaking to which regulation 4(2) applies.

4.   Business undertakings

(1)  For the purposes of the Act, land-based business undertakings are prescribed to be business undertakings.

(2)  For the purposes of the Act and these regulations, land-based business undertakings consist of the carrying on by a person of any of the relevant activities in relation to land in respect of which the person is liable to pay land tax.

(3)  For the purposes of these regulations, the following are relevant activities:

(a) the manufacture of goods;

(b) the trade of goods;

(c) the development of land;

(d) the operation as, or the provision of services by, a charitable institution;

(e) the operation as, or the provision of services by, a community service organisation;

(f) the operation as an association of ex-servicemen or ex-servicewomen or for the benefit of the dependants of ex-servicemen or ex-servicewomen;

(g) the provision of services.

(4)  For the purposes of subregulation (2) , a person carries on a relevant activity in relation to land in respect of which the person is liable to pay land tax if –

(a) the person's principal business, or the principal business of a tenant of the person, is the carrying on of one or more relevant activities on or from land in relation to which the person is liable under the Land Tax Act 2000 to pay land tax; or

(b) the person's principal business, or the principal business of a tenant of the person, is the carrying on of a relevant activity that consists of the development of land in relation to which the person is liable under the Land Tax Act 2000 to pay land tax.

5.   Manner and form of applications for grant

(1)  The Commissioner may approve the manner and form of an application under section 4 of the Act for a grant in respect of a land-based business undertaking.

(2)  The Commissioner may require an application under section 4 of the Act for a grant in respect of a land-based business undertaking to be verified by a statutory declaration or declaration.

6.   Landlords to refund certain amounts to tenants

If –

(a) a person has received, in respect of a land-based business undertaking, a grant under the Act ("the grant"); and

(b) the grant relates to an area of land; and

(c) there is a tenant in relation to the area of land; and

(d) the tenant has, under the terms or conditions of a lease in respect of the land, paid an amount ("the refundable amount") calculated by reference to an amount of land tax payable under the Land Tax Act 2000  –

the person must, within 30 days of receiving the grant or the refundable amount being paid by the tenant, whichever occurs last, reimburse to the tenant so much of the refundable amount as is not more than the amount of the grant.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 10 penalty units.

7.   Expiry

These regulations expire on 30 June 2012.

Displayed and numbered in accordance with the Rules Publication Act 1953.

Notified in the Gazette on 30 December 2009

These regulations are administered in the Department of Treasury and Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the regulation)

These regulations, made under the Business Undertakings Assistance Act 1984  –

(a) prescribe a class of business undertakings for the purposes of the Act; and

(b) include provisions relating to applications for grants under the Act that relate to business undertakings of that class; and

(c) provide that a landlord who receives under the Act a grant in relation to a business undertaking of that class must refund to a tenant of the landlord any amount, paid by the tenant, that is calculated by reference to land tax and that is not more than the amount of the grant.