Thursday, 14 November 2024
Bills
State Taxation Further Amendment Bill 2024
State Taxation Further Amendment Bill 2024
Introduction and first reading
The PRESIDENT (17:44): I have a further message from the Assembly:
The Legislative Assembly presents for the agreement of the Legislative Council ‘A Bill for an Act to amend the Duties Act 2000, the First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Act 2000, the Land Tax Act 2005, the Payroll Tax Act 2007, the Sale of Land Act 1962, the State Taxation Acts and Other Acts Amendment Act 2023, the State Taxation Amendment Act 2024, the Taxation Administration Act 1997, the Unclaimed Money Act 2008 and the Valuation of Land Act 1960, to make consequential amendments to other Acts and for other purposes.’
That the bill be now read a first time.
Motion agreed to.
Read first time.
Harriet SHING: I move, by leave:
That the second reading be taken forthwith.
Motion agreed to.
Statement of compatibility
Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Housing, Minister for Water, Minister for Equality) (17:45): I lay on the table a statement of compatibility with the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006:
In accordance with section 28 of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Charter), I make this Statement of Compatibility with respect to the State Taxation Further Amendment Bill 2024:
In my opinion, the State Taxation Further Amendment Bill 2024 (Bill), as introduced to the Legislative Council, is compatible with the human rights as set out in the Charter. I base my opinion on the reasons outlined in this Statement.
Overview
This Bill makes a number of amendments to the Commercial and Industrial Property Tax Act 2024, the Duties Act 2000 (Duties Act), the First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Act 2000 (FHOGHBS Act), the Land Tax Act 2005 (Land Tax Act), the Payroll Tax Act 2007 (Payroll Tax Act), the Sale of Land Act 1962, the State Taxation Acts and Other Acts Amendment Act 2023, State Taxation Amendment Act 2024, the Taxation Administration Act 1997, the Valuation of Land Act 1960 (Valuation Act) and the Unclaimed Money Act 2008. Consequential amendments are also made to the Fire Services Property Levy Act 2012, the Local Government Act 1989 and the Windfall Gains Tax Act 2021.
Many provisions of the Bill do not engage the human rights listed in the Charter because they either do not affect natural persons, or they operate beneficially in relation to natural persons. Further, many technical amendments made by the Bill, including amendments to the Valuation Act relating to objections, do not engage the human rights listed in the Charter as they do no more than clarify the intended operation of provisions already enacted.
Human rights issues
The rights under the Charter that are relevant to the Bill are the right to property, the right to privacy and the right to recognition and equality before the law.
Right to property: section 20
Section 20 of the Charter provides that a person must not be deprived of his or her property other than in accordance with law. This right is not limited where there is a law that authorises a deprivation of property, and that law is adequately accessible, clear and certain and sufficiently precise to enable a person to regulate their conduct.
Payroll Tax Act: Period for reassessment in the case of underpaid wages
Clause 45 of the Bill amends the Payroll Tax Act to permit the Commissioner of State Revenue (Commissioner) to make a reassessment of payroll tax more than five years after the date of the original assessment where a tax default has occurred due to wage theft. This may engage the right to property to the extent that natural person employers who have engaged in wage theft may be liable to pay reassessments of payroll tax in respect of periods which currently cannot be reassessed.
The imposition of payroll tax is not arbitrary because it is precisely formulated in the Payroll Tax Act. It is a self-assessing tax. The legislation is adequately accessible, clear and certain, and sufficiently precise to enable affected natural person taxpayers to inform themselves of their legal obligations and to regulate their conduct accordingly. Extending the Commissioner’s power to issue reassessments beyond the current five-year period in instances of wage theft permits the Commissioner to compel payment of amounts of tax for which the person was already liable under the Payroll Tax Act. Furthermore, natural persons who are issued with a reassessment in those circumstances will have the protections provided by the TA Act including rights of objection, review, appeal and refund of overpaid tax.
Duties Act and Land Tax Act: foreign purchaser additional duty and land tax absentee owner surcharge
Clause 32 amends the Duties Act to ensure that certain foreign persons’ liability to the foreign purchaser additional duty (FPAD) which arose and/or was assessed during the period 1 January 2018 to 8 April 2024 is imposed as it was intended to be imposed.
Clause 42 similarly amends the Land Tax Act to ensure that certain foreign persons’ liability to the land tax absentee owner surcharge (AOS) which arose and/or was assessed during the period 1 January 2018 to 8 April 2024 is imposed as it was intended to be imposed.
These clauses are intended to address a risk that the existing provisions of the DutiesAct and the Land Tax Act which imposed FPAD or charged AOS were invalid by reason of an inconsistency with the International Tax Agreements Act 1953 (Cth), which gives the force of law to certain non-discrimination clauses in international tax treaties.
To address that issue, in April this year the Commonwealth amended the International Tax Agreements Act 1953 (Cth) by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Foreign Investment) Act 2024 (Cth). The Commonwealth amendments clarify the uncertainty about the interaction of State laws with the international tax agreements, by ensuring that State laws imposing certain taxes (including the AOS and FPAD) prevail in the event of any inconsistency with the international tax agreements. The Commonwealth amendments apply to taxes payable on or after 1 January 2018 or in relation to tax periods ending on or after 1 January 2018. The amendments proposed in the Bill are intended to align with the Commonwealth amendments and ensure that the Victorian taxes are imposed as they were intended to be imposed.
Where clauses 32 and 42 apply, they will operate to impose a new duty or land tax upon the same persons and events, at the same time and in the same amount, as if FPAD or AOS had been validly charged. The practical effect is that if a person had already paid FPAD or AOS and the imposition of those taxes is found to be invalid, their payment will satisfy their liability under the new provisions. If a person owed but had not paid FPAD or AOS, they will be obliged to pay the same amount under the new land tax or duty.
These clauses may engage the right to property to the extent that they require certain foreign natural persons to pay the new duty or land tax, in circumstances where they may arguably have had a claim in respect of any past payments of duty or land tax that had not been validly charged by reason of the inconsistency.
To the extent that natural persons’ property rights are affected by the above amendments to the Duties Act and the Land Tax Act, they are in accordance with law and so the right in section 20 is not limited. Even if the right were limited, any limit can be reasonably justified under section 7(2) of the Charter because it is clearly articulated, sufficiently precise to enable affected natural person taxpayers to inform themselves of their legal obligations and to regulate their conduct accordingly, and not arbitrary. The duty and land tax is imposed in terms that ensure that the rights and liabilities of all persons will be the same as if the past imposition of these taxes had been validly charged. The provisions confirm that land tax and duty is payable in accordance with what the State had always intended, and ensures citizens of all foreign countries are placed in the same position under Victorian law.
There are no less restrictive means reasonably available to achieve the purpose of enabling the proper administration of the FPAD and AOS.
Right to privacy: section 13
Section 13(a) of the Charter provides that every person has the right to enjoy their private life, free from interference. This right applies to the collection of personal information by public authorities. An unlawful or arbitrary interference to a natural person’s privacy will limit this right.
Land Tax Act: Exemption for housing provided for the relief of poverty
Clause 40 of the Bill introduces section 78D into the Land Tax Act which provides that in order to obtain a land tax exemption in relation to housing provided for the relief of poverty, the owner of the land must apply to the Commissioner for the exemption and provide the Commissioner with any information the Commissioner requests for the purpose of enabling the Commissioner to determine whether the land is exempt.
To the extent that the collection of any personal information from a natural person in relation to these land tax exemption applications may result in interference with a natural person’s privacy, any such interference will be lawful and not arbitrary as these provisions do not require that a person’s personal information be published. Further, these provisions only require the provision of information necessary to achieve the purpose of determining eligibility for the land tax exemption which is exclusively in the taxpayer’s possession. Therefore, there are no other reasonable means available to achieve this purpose.
Right to recognition and equality before the law: section 8
Section 8(3) of the Charter provides that every person is equal before the law and is entitled to the equal protection of the law without discrimination. Discrimination, under section 6 of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010, includes discrimination on the basis of a person’s nationality.
Duties Act and Land Tax Act: foreign purchaser additional duty and land tax absentee owner surcharge
Liability to pay FPAD differentiates based on whether a person is a foreign natural person, which is a person other than an Australian citizen or a permanent resident of Australia (which includes a New Zealand citizen).
Liability to pay AOS differentiates based on whether a person is an absentee owner, which is a person other than an Australian citizen or a permanent resident of Australia (which includes a New Zealand citizen), who does not ordinarily reside in Australia and is either absent from Australia on 31 December immediately preceding the tax year or is absent from Australia for more than six months in the year prior to the year of assessment, for which land tax relates.
As discussed above, where clauses 32 and 42 of the Bill apply, they will operate to impose a new duty or land tax upon the same persons and events, at the same time and in the same amount, as if FPAD or AOS had been validly charged. The practical effect is that if a person had already paid FPAD or AOS and the imposition of those taxes is found to be invalid, their payment will satisfy their liability under the new provisions. If a person owed but had not paid FPAD or AOS, they will be obliged to pay the same amount under the new land tax or duty. The Charter implications of the original absentee owner surcharge provisions were addressed in the Statement of Compatibility accompanying the State Taxation and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2015. Given that FPAD and AOS differentiate between taxpayers’ liability on the basis of a person’s citizenship, clauses 32 and 42 of this Bill may limit a natural person’s right to equal protection of the law without discrimination.
However, any limitation on those rights would be reasonable and justified in accordance with section 7(2) of the Charter because the amendments are required for the proper administration of the charges, and consequently necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of collecting surcharge rates of land tax from absentee owners of land, which is to improve housing affordability for Victorians and to fund vital infrastructure by increasing the cost of holding land for foreign persons in the Victorian residential housing market. Differential treatment of foreign natural persons is necessary to achieve this purpose. The Bill ensures that this purpose can be achieved by enabling the proper administration of the FPAD and AOS, and further ensures citizens of all foreign countries are placed in the same position under Victorian law, limiting the extent of any discrimination between citizens of different foreign countries. There are no less restrictive means reasonably available to achieve these purposes.
Conclusion
For these reasons, in my opinion, the provisions of the Bill are compatible with the rights contained in sections 8, 13 and 20 of the Charter.
Hon Jaclyn Symes MP
Attorney-General
Minister for Emergency Services
Second reading
That the bill be now read a second time.
Ordered that second-reading speech be incorporated into Hansard:
The State Taxation Further Amendment Bill 2024 amends the Duties Act 2000 (Duties Act), First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Act 2000, Land Tax Act 2005 (Land Tax Act), Payroll Tax Act 2007 (Payroll Tax Act), Sale of Land Act 1962, State Taxation and Other Acts Amendment Act 2023, State Taxation Amendment Act 2024, Taxation Administration Act 1997 (TAA), Valuation of Land Act 1960 (Valuation of Land Act) and Unclaimed Money Act 2008.
This Bill enacts measures to improve the operation of Victoria’s taxation laws and the land valuation process. In line with government policy, these amendments maintain a strong and sustainable taxation system. Amendments in this Bill to the Valuation of Land Act will also improve the integrity and effectiveness of the valuation system, ensuring it operates as intended. This Bill further amends the Unclaimed Money Act 2008 to make a statute law revision.
Bulk billing general practitioners
This Bill introduces a payroll tax exemption from 1 July 2025 for bulk-billing general practice (GP) medical businesses. Following extensive consultation with the primary care sector and work to align settings across the country, in May 2024 the Government announced payroll tax relief for Victorian GP businesses for outstanding or future assessments to contractor GPs up to 30 June 2024. This relief was provided through my ex gratia powers as Treasurer. Also announced was a further 12 months of payroll tax relief on contractor GP payments through to 30 June 2025 for any businesses that had not already received advice and begun paying payroll tax for their contractor GPs. The new exemption in this Bill covers employers paying wages to contractor or employee GPs providing bulk-billed consultations. The exemption is a partial exemption, based on the proportion of total payments paid by patients or the relevant funding provider for medical services provided by GPs that are payments for bulk-billed or fully funded medical services. Fully funded medical services include payments in relation to veterans’ entitlements, payments from the Transport Accident Commission or workers compensation schemes. This will ease pressures on GPs and give certainty to primary care businesses and the broader sector, supporting GPs and the important work they do looking after Victorians.
Commercial and industrial property tax subsequent transactions
This Bill extends the duty exemptions for certain subsequent transactions of land in the commercial and industrial property tax reform scheme (CIPT scheme), which commenced on 1 July 2024. Under the CIPT scheme, duty is gradually being abolished on commercial and industrial land and replaced with an annual commercial and industrial property tax. Once land enters the CIPT scheme – generally through a dutiable transaction or relevant acquisition affecting a 50% or more interest in the land – subsequent transfers and acquisitions of the land are exempt from duty. However, subsequent transactions in relation to dutiable leases, fixtures, economic entitlements or dutiable goods are currently not exempt. This Bill exempts transactions of dutiable leases, fixtures or economic entitlements related to land in the CIPT scheme, where appropriate duty was previously paid on or after the land entered the scheme, and also exempts the transfer of dutiable goods transacted as part of an arrangement. A full exemption applies if duty was previously paid on the whole land. If full duty has not been paid, the Commissioner of State Revenue (Commissioner) will have discretion to fully or partially exempt a subsequent transaction based on several legislative factors. This amendment upholds the Government’s commitment during passage of the CIPT Act to work with industry stakeholders to introduce an exemption for these transactions. The amendment takes effect from the day after Royal Assent.
Land tax charitable housing exemption
This Bill amends the Land Tax Act to exempt housing owned or managed by a charitable institution and provided to occupants in connection with the charitable purpose of relief of poverty, from the 2025 land tax year. The State Taxation Amendment Act 2024 previously introduced standalone exemptions for social housing or emergency housing. The exemption introduced in this Bill will assist charitable housing providers that would not meet the eligibility criteria for the new social housing exemption, including where the provider manages housing that is not allocated to residents registered with the Victorian Housing Register but is nonetheless provided for a charitable purpose. The new exemption will also extend to vacant land owned by charitable institutions and declared by its owner to be held for such future use and occupation.
Foreign purchaser additional duty and absentee owner surcharge
This Bill amends the Duties Act and Land Tax Act to ensure that the liability of foreign purchasers and absentee owners of land from certain countries to pay foreign purchaser additional duty (FPAD) and absentee owner surcharge (AOS) for the period 1 January 2018 to 8 April 2024 are imposed as they were intended to be imposed. The TAA is also amended to provide that certain FPAD and AOS assessments made under that Act are taken to have the same force and effect as if made in respect of the new taxes. These amendments are intended to address a risk that the existing provisions of the Duties Act and the Land Tax Act which imposed FPAD or charged AOS were invalid by reason of an inconsistency with the International Tax Agreements Act 1953 (Cth), which gives the force of law to certain non-discrimination clauses in international tax treaties. On 8 April 2024, Commonwealth amendments in the Treasury Laws Amendment (Foreign Investment) Act 2024 (Cth) took effect to clarify an uncertainty about the interaction of State laws with the international tax agreements, by ensuring that State laws imposing certain taxes (including the AOS and FPAD) prevail in the event of any inconsistency with the international tax agreements. The Commonwealth amendments apply to taxes payable on or after 1 January 2018 or in relation to tax periods ending on or after 1 January 2018. The amendments proposed in the Bill are intended to align with the Commonwealth amendments and ensure that the Victorian taxes are imposed as they were intended to be imposed. Where the amendments apply, they will operate to impose a new duty or land tax upon the same person and events, at the same time and in the same amount, as if FPAD or AOS had been validly charged. The practical effect is that if a person had already paid FPAD or AOS and the imposition of those taxes is found to be invalid, their payment will satisfy their liability under the new provisions. If a person owed but had not paid FPAD or AOS, they will be obliged to pay the same amount under the new land tax or duty. The amendments confirm that land tax and duty is payable in accordance with what had always been intended, ensure citizens of all foreign countries are placed in the same position under Victorian law and protect the significant State revenue collected from FPAD and AOS taxpayers.
Grants, concessions and exemptions for pensioners and first home buyers
This Bill amends the Duties Act to enable the pensioner and concession card duty reduction to apply to the purchase of a home by the guardian of a person with a legal disability who is an eligible concession cardholder, or to the purchase of a home by the trustee for a special disability trust where the principal beneficiary is an eligible cardholder. The Bill makes equivalent amendments to the first home buyer duty concession and exemption in similar circumstances, where the purchaser is a trustee of a special disability trust and the principal beneficiary is an eligible first home buyer. These amendments will support guardians and trustees (including trustees for special disability trusts) in purchasing housing for a person with a legal disability, or the principal beneficiary in the case of an special disability trust, where the person meets eligibility criteria for a duty concession or exemption but cannot access them due to the purchase being made under a guardianship or trust arrangement. Consistent with these amendments, the First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Act 2000 will also be amended to allow the trustee for an special disability trust to apply for the First Home Owner Grant on behalf of the principal beneficiary of the special disability trust who is a first home buyer. The amendments take effect from the day after Royal Assent.
Vacant residential land tax – holiday home exemption
This Bill amends the holiday home exemption from vacant residential land tax (VRLT) as it applies to company or trustee owners from 1 January 2025, such that a relevant natural person with an Australian principal place of residence (PPR) may ‘directly or indirectly’ hold at least 50% of the shares or beneficial interests in the company or trustee owner to qualify for the exemption. Currently the exemption only applies if interests are held directly by a person or persons with an Australian PPR. This Bill also extends the exemption so it can continue after the death of the landowner or the sole shareholder of a company owner, provided a relative of the deceased satisfies relevant requirements for the exemption. This ensures a deceased person’s family can continue to benefit from the exemption while the administration of the estate is being processed, on the basis that the land is used as a holiday home. Finally, a change of trustee will be permitted without losing eligibility for an exemption due to the existing requirement that the same trustee must have continuously owned the holiday home since 28 November 2023. This recognises that changes of trustee may occur for legitimate reasons such as the retirement of the former trustee. The amendments commence from the 2025 land tax year.
Vacant residential land tax – other amendments
This Bill contains several further amendments to the State Taxation Acts and Other Acts Amendment Act 2023 and State Taxation Amendment Act 2024 (2023 and 2024 Acts) regarding the operation of VRLT. Firstly, the Bill clarifies that a 1% concessionary VRLT rate applies to newly developed residential land from 1 January 2025 if the land was previously exempt from ‘vacant residential land tax’, rather than the existing wording of ‘land tax’. From 1 January 2025 the VRLT rate is progressive, where it applies at 1% of capital improved value (CIV) for the first year of VRLT liability, 2% for the second consecutive year and 3% for the third and subsequent years. Newly developed residential land will be eligible for a VRLT exemption for up to 3 tax years after which a 1% concessionary rate will apply each subsequent tax year until the land changes ownership or is no longer subject to VRLT. Secondly, the Bill clarifies that land that has been unimproved residential land for the 5 years preceding 2026 (that is, from 2021) will be liable for VRLT from 1 January 2026. This removes any ambiguity in the existing wording relating to whether the 5-year timeframe covers the period before the commencement of VRLT amendments in the State Taxation Acts and Other Acts Amendment Act 2023. Thirdly, the VRLT exemption from 1 January 2026 for unimproved residential land contiguous to an owner’s PPR will be extended to include the PPR of a qualifying person with a disability and the PPR of a tenant or permitted occupant of the owner. Lastly, the Bill also ensures that land located in Victoria’s alpine resort areas will be excluded from the imposition of VRLT, commencing from 1 January 2025. Due to the cyclical and seasonal demand for accommodation in alpine resort areas, lands located in these areas are likely to be considered vacant for VRLT purposes. However, the imposition of VRLT on lands located in Alpine resort areas would be inconsistent with the purpose of VLRT, which is to encourage owners of vacant residential homes to make them available for use as long term accommodation.
Friendly societies
This Bill fully abolishes the land transfer duty exemption available to friendly societies and restricts the insurance duty exemption from 1 January 2025 to certain traditional friendly societies. Historically, friendly societies were mutual organisations which, by voluntary subscription, provide for the needs of their members and members’ families in times of medical or financial hardship. The Duties Act currently provides a broad exemption for any transfer of dutiable property to, or insurance undertaken by, a friendly society. However, the existing provisions are available to any entity that was historically registered as a friendly society in Victoria before 1 July 1999 when State-based regulation of friendly societies was abolished. This means friendly societies that have demutualised or come under commercial control since 1999 can theoretically benefit from exemptions on high-value commercial transactions, when they were always intended to be confined to traditional societies. As the land transfer duty exemption is infrequently claimed and no longer appropriate to offer in modern circumstances, the Bill fully repeals this exemption. The Bill also narrows the insurance duty exemption from 1 January 2025 to traditional friendly societies, meaning those that have maintained both a mutual membership base and dominant activities falling within the scope of beneficial objects outlined in the former Friendly Societies (Victoria) Code: for example, the provision of health and welfare benefits, or financial and investment services. Friendly societies may still benefit from other duty exemptions where they are eligible, such as the charity exemption, and the exemption for friendly societies under the Land Tax Act will also continue to apply.
Apportionment of land tax under contracts of sale of land and term contracts
This Bill amends the definition of sale price in the Sale of Land Act 1962 to clarify that this amount includes GST. The Sale of Land Act 1962 prohibits the apportionment of land tax under contracts for the sale of land entered into on or after 1 January 2024. This is limited to contracts where the sale price is below a prescribed threshold amount, currently $10 million (and indexed every calendar year). The amendment removes ambiguity in the definition and meets the policy intent that the threshold amount is intended to include GST payable on the supply of the land. The amendment will commence on the day after Royal Assent.
Valuation of Land Act 1960 review
The Bill makes necessary amendments to give final effect to the transition of responsibility for rating and taxing valuations from local councils to the Valuer-General. In addition, it makes minor amendments to improve the operation of the Valuation of Land Act 1960 by removing anomalies, correcting unintended outcomes, ensuring it is up to date with current practices and there is finality and certainty of the valuation record.
Since the 2023 general valuation cycle, the Valuer-General has been the sole valuation authority for all 79 councils in Victoria. The temporary provisions that were put in place in 2018 to support the transition from valuations being conducted by the relevant municipal council are being removed and updates made to ensure all responsibilities associated with making valuations have been appropriately transitioned to the Valuer-General. Minor consequential amendments are also being made to the Fire Services Property Levy Act 2012, the Land Tax Act 2005, the Taxation Administration Act 1997 and the Local Government Act 1989 to replace references to ‘valuation authority’ with references to the ‘Valuer-General’.
Ensuring the valuation objection and review process results in the correct valuation is critical to the integrity of the valuation system. To ensure a valuer, Tribunal or Court can consider all the relevant evidence when reviewing a valuation and determine the correct valuation, the Bill replaces the grounds of objection that a value is too high or too low with a single ground of objection that the value is ‘incorrect’. This change will come into operation on 1 January 2025 and apply to all objections lodged on or after that date, irrespective of when the valuation was made.
Additional amendments to the objection, review and appeal provisions will ensure that reviews are based on the grounds of objection and the valuation objected to, and that an objection lodged in respect of a valuation used to assess land tax or windfall gains tax is limited to those bases of valuation used to calculate the tax. The amendments ensure that initiation of a review does not re-enliven the right to object to other bases of valuation that have no relationship to the assessment being challenged.
The amendments also ensure that the Valuer-General can appoint another valuer to consider an objection if the original valuer is unavailable, preserve the validity of the general valuation if it is returned late, and clarify that the timeframe for exchanging information on an objection starts when the valuer receives an objection, not when it was lodged with the valuation authority.
The Bill also amends the Valuation of Land Act 1960 to ensure the legislation remains clear, up to date and best supports the administration of the valuation framework in Victoria. This includes amendments to align the Act with updated administrative practices for serving valuation notices, informing the State Revenue Office about objection outcomes, and referring valuation objections to the Valuer-General. The amendments also address anomalies in the legislation and ensures consistent language and definitions are used across principal Acts. This includes referring to notices of valuation as being ‘served’ rather than ‘given’, providing consistent rules for when service of a notice of valuation is effective, aligning the definition of Australian Valuation Property Classification Code (AVPCC) with the Fire Services Property Levy Act 2012 and amending provisions which deem a person to be aggrieved by a valuation, regardless of whether they are dissatisfied with the valuation.
Wage underpayments
The Bill amends the Payroll Tax Act to extend the period in which the Commissioner may reassess an employer’s payroll tax liability more than 5 years after the initial assessment was made if an employer has underpaid wages. The existing TAA limits reassessments to 5 years after the original assessment in most circumstances. Sometimes this prevents the Commissioner from reassessing and collecting payroll tax from employers who have not paid wages or underpaid wages, including where underpayments occur over several years or only come to light many years after the fact. This change ensures that employers who underpay wages remain accountable for unpaid payroll tax including any associated penalty tax and interest. This amendment takes effect from the day after Royal Assent.
Land tax excluded trusts and clubs
This Bill amends the Land Tax Act to expand the definition of an excluded trust. Excluded trusts are not subject to the trust surcharge rate of land tax and the definition currently includes trusts with certain clubs, or their members, as the sole beneficiary or beneficiaries. In 2020, the former concession for clubs was expanded so that non-racing clubs became eligible for a full exemption, while racing clubs continued to receive the concession. However, consequential amendments were not made to the definition of ‘excluded trust’ to reflect these changes. This Bill amends the definition to include a trust whose sole beneficiaries are non-racing clubs or their members. The definition of ‘excluded trust’ is also expanded to include trusts whose sole beneficiaries are non-profit sporting, outdoor recreational, outdoor cultural or similar outdoor organisations, which are also eligible for an exemption under the Land Tax Act. The amendment takes effect from the day after Royal Assent for the 2025 land tax year.
I commend the Bill to the house.
Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (17:45): I move:
That debate on this bill be adjourned for one week.
Motion agreed to and debate adjourned for one week.