More than AUS$2.1 million (US$1.66 million) of payroll tax debt owed to Australian Capital Territory (ACT) coffers by five firms has been waived.
ACT’s Chief Minister Andrew Barr approved the situation during the 2015-16 fiscal year. Details of the sum involved was revealed in a tax expenditure statement released by the government last month, according to The Canberra Times.
The payroll tax debt waived added up to AUS$2,164,000 (US$1,714,218) and although the ACT government would not identify the five firms that gained, its report said the debt was dispensed with as part of “wider measures to facilitate investment and job creation in the Territory”.
The sum was part of some AUS$2.205 million (US$1.75 million) in waivers that Barr, who is also ACT Treasurer, approved in 2015-16. Others included nine waivers from general rates debt totalling AUS$22,000 (US$17,428). These waivers was described in the report as being “provided to support homeowners who were adversely affected by loose fill asbestos as part of the ACT Government’s broader efforts to eradicate asbestos in the Territory”.
There were also five land tax waivers adding up to AUS$19,000 (US$15,051) in total, which the report stated were provided “in exceptional circumstances to achieve a beneficial policy outcome”.
The report also laid out other exemptions, rebates and concession schemes that the government operates.
Although the ACT government has previously reported aggregate figures in annual financial statements totalling AUS$268,000 (US$221,837) for 27 debt waivers in 2014-15, the 2015-16 statement provides significantly more detail. It is the first time that ACT’s Treasury has produced such a detailed analysis and henceforth the aim is to update it annually.
In terms of payroll tax, government coffers lost out on AUS$145 million (US$115 million) due to the state’s tax-free threshold. Some AUS$19.1 million (US$15.1 million) was lost through payroll tax exemptions for the charitable sector, while AUS$17.8 million (US$14.12 million) was forgone as a result of exemption for non-government schools.
Payroll tax topped the list of the five most expensive exemptions or concessions in 2015-2016 at AUS$188 million (US$149 million). This was followed by stamp duty concessions at AUS$32.6 million (US$25.8 million); general rates concessions at AUS$17.5 million (US$13.9 million); car registration for pensioners at AUS$8.9 million (US$7.1 million) and car duties at AUS $7.2 million (US$5.7 million).
Gill Oliver is a business and property journalist who has written for The Daily Mail/Mail Online's This is Money, The Press Association and many national and regional newspapers and magazines.
More than AUS$2.1 million (US$1.66 million) of payroll tax debt owed to Australian Capital Territory (ACT) coffers by five firms has been waived.
ACT’s Chief Minister Andrew Barr approved the situation during the 2015-16 fiscal year. Details of the sum involved was revealed in a tax expenditure statement released by the government last month, according to The Canberra Times.
The payroll tax debt waived added up to AUS$2,164,000 (US$1,714,218) and although the ACT government would not identify the five firms that gained, its report said the debt was dispensed with as part of “wider measures to facilitate investment and job creation in the Territory”.
The sum was part of some AUS$2.205 million (US$1.75 million) in waivers that Barr, who is also ACT Treasurer, approved in 2015-16. Others included nine waivers from general rates debt totalling AUS$22,000 (US$17,428). These waivers was described in the report as being “provided to support homeowners who were adversely affected by loose fill asbestos as part of the ACT Government’s broader efforts to eradicate asbestos in the Territory”.
There were also five land tax waivers adding up to AUS$19,000 (US$15,051) in total, which the report stated were provided “in exceptional circumstances to achieve a beneficial policy outcome”.
The report also laid out other exemptions, rebates and concession schemes that the government operates.
Although the ACT government has previously reported aggregate figures in annual financial statements totalling AUS$268,000 (US$221,837) for 27 debt waivers in 2014-15, the 2015-16 statement provides significantly more detail. It is the first time that ACT’s Treasury has produced such a detailed analysis and henceforth the aim is to update it annually.
In terms of payroll tax, government coffers lost out on AUS$145 million (US$115 million) due to the state’s tax-free threshold. Some AUS$19.1 million (US$15.1 million) was lost through payroll tax exemptions for the charitable sector, while AUS$17.8 million (US$14.12 million) was forgone as a result of exemption for non-government schools.
Payroll tax topped the list of the five most expensive exemptions or concessions in 2015-2016 at AUS$188 million (US$149 million). This was followed by stamp duty concessions at AUS$32.6 million (US$25.8 million); general rates concessions at AUS$17.5 million (US$13.9 million); car registration for pensioners at AUS$8.9 million (US$7.1 million) and car duties at AUS $7.2 million (US$5.7 million).
Gill Oliver is a business and property journalist who has written for The Daily Mail/Mail Online's This is Money, The Press Association and many national and regional newspapers and magazines.
