Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) For the purpose of granting to residents of the prescribed area an income tax concession in recognition of the disadvantages to which they are subject because of the uncongenial climatic conditions, isolation and high cost of living in Zone A and, to a lesser extent, in Zone B, in comparison with parts of Australia not included in the prescribed area, a taxpayer (not being a company or a taxpayer in the capacity of a trustee) who is a resident of the prescribed area in the year of income is entitled, in his assessment in respect of income of that year of income, to a rebate of tax ascertained in accordance with this section.
(2) Subject to subsections (2A) and 79B(4), the rebate allowable under this section in the assessment of a taxpayer in respect of income of the year of income is:
(a) where the taxpayer is a resident of the special area in Zone A, or of the special area in Zone B, in the year of income--$1,173 increased by 50% of the relevant rebate amount in relation to the taxpayer in relation to the year of income;
(d) where the taxpayer is a resident of Zone A in the year of income but has not resided or actually been in the special area in Zone A or the special area in Zone B during any part of the year of income--$338 increased by 50% of the relevant rebate amount in relation to the taxpayer in relation to the year of income;
(e) where the taxpayer is a resident of Zone B in the year of income but has not resided or actually been in Zone A or the special area in Zone B during any part of the year of income--$57 increased by 20% of the relevant rebate amount in relation to the taxpayer in relation to the year of income; or
(f) in any other case--such amount as, in the opinion of the Commissioner, is reasonable in the circumstances, being an amount not greater than the amount of the rebate to which the taxpayer would have been entitled under this section if paragraph (a) had applied to him in respect of the year of income and not less than the amount of rebate to which he would have been so entitled if paragraph (e) had so applied to him.
(2A) The amount of any rebate that would, but for this subsection, be allowable to a taxpayer under this section in his assessment in respect of income of a year of income shall be reduced by the amount of any prescribed allowance paid to the taxpayer in respect of the year of income.
(3) Any alteration of the boundaries of any area referred to in Schedule 2 made (otherwise than by an amendment of this Act) after the commencement of this section shall not affect the operation of this section.
(3A) This section has effect subject to section 23AB.
(3B) For the purposes of this section, a taxpayer is a resident of a particular area, being the prescribed area, Zone A, Zone B, the special area in Zone A or the special area in Zone B (in this subsection referred to as the relevant area ) in a year of income if:
(a) the taxpayer resided in the relevant area in the year of income for a period of more than one‑half of the year of income;
(b) the taxpayer was actually in the relevant area in the year of income for a period of more than one‑half of the year of income;
(c) the taxpayer died during the year of income and at the date of his death resided in the relevant area;
(d) the following conditions are satisfied:
(i) the taxpayer resided, or actually was, in the relevant area in the year of income for a period of not more than one‑half of the year of income;
(ii) the taxpayer resided, or actually was, in the relevant area in the next preceding year of income for a period of not more than one‑half of the next preceding year of income;
(iii) for the purposes of this section, the taxpayer was not a resident of the relevant area in the next preceding year of income; and
(iv) the sum of:
(A) the number of days in the period mentioned in subparagraph (i); and
(B) the number of days in the period mentioned in subparagraph (ii), other than days included in a period to which subsection 23AB(8) or 79B(3) applied in relation to the taxpayer in relation to the next preceding year of income;
exceeds 182; or
(e) the following conditions are satisfied:
(i) the taxpayer resided in the relevant area in the year of income for a period of not more than one‑half of the year of income, being a period that included the first day of the year of income;
(ii) the taxpayer resided in the relevant area, in a relevant preceding year of income, for a period of not more than one‑half of that relevant preceding year of income;
(iii) for the purposes of this section, the taxpayer was not a resident of the relevant area in that relevant preceding year of income;
(iv) the sum of:
(A) the number of days in the period mentioned in subparagraph (i); and
(B) the number of days in the period mentioned in subparagraph (ii), other than days included in a period to which subsection 23AB(8) or 79B(3) applied in relation to the taxpayer in relation to that relevant preceding year of income;
exceeds 182; and
(v) the taxpayer resided in the relevant area continuously from the commencement of the period mentioned in subparagraph (ii) until the end of the period mentioned in subparagraph (i).
(3C) In subsection (3B), a reference to a taxpayer residing, or actually being, in a particular area in a year of income for a period of more than, or not more than, one‑half of the year of income is a reference to the taxpayer:
(a) residing, or actually being, in that area in the year of income for one period of more than, or not more than, as the case may be, one‑half of the year of income; or
(b) residing, or actually being, in that area in the year of income for 2 or more periods the aggregate of the lengths of which is more than, or not more than, as the case may be, one‑half of the year of income.
(3D) For the purposes of this section:
(a) the special area within Zone A or Zone B is constituted by:
(i) the points in that Zone that were not, as at 1 November 1981, situated at a distance of 250 kilometres or less by the shortest practicable surface route, from the centre point of the nearest urban centre (whether or not within that Zone) with a census population of not less than 2,500; and
(ii) the points in that Zone that were within the special area in that Zone for the purposes of this section as in force immediately before the commencement of the Income Tax Assessment Amendment Act (No. 4) 1984 ; and
(b) the distance, by the shortest practicable surface route, between a point in Zone A or Zone B and the centre point of an urban centre is:
(i) where there is only one location within that urban centre from which distances between the urban centre and other places are usually measured--the distance, by the shortest practicable surface route, between that point in Zone A or Zone B and that location; and
(ii) where there are 2 or more locations within that urban centre from which distances between parts of the urban centre and other places are usually measured--the distance, by the shortest practicable surface route, between that point in Zone A or Zone B and the one of those locations that is in the principal one of those parts.
(3E) For the purposes of this section other than this subsection, the Commissioner may, if he considers it appropriate having regard to all the circumstances, treat a point in Zone A or Zone B that is not in the special area in that Zone but is adjacent to or in close proximity to the special area in that Zone as being a point in the special area in that Zone.
(3F) For the purposes of this section, the census population of Nhulunbuy is taken to be less than 2,500.
(4) In this section:
"census population" , in relation to an urban centre, means the population of that urban centre specified in the results of the Census of Population and Housing taken by the Australian Statistician on 30 June 1981, being the results published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in the documents entitled "Persons and Dwellings in Local Government Areas and Urban Centres".
"prescribed allowance" means:
(a) so much of a payment under the Social Security Act 1991 or the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 as was included in the payment by way of remote area allowance; or
(b) so much of an exceptional circumstances relief payment, or a payment of farm help income support, under the Farm Household Support Act 1992 as would have been included by way of remote area allowance if it had been a payment of newstart allowance under the Social Security Act 1991 instead of an exceptional circumstances relief payment, or a payment of farm help income support.
"relevant preceding year of income" , in relation to a year of income, means any of the next 4 preceding years of income other than the immediately preceding year of income.
"relevant rebate amount" , in relation to a taxpayer in relation to a year of income, means the sum of the following rebates (if any):
(a) any rebate to which the taxpayer would be entitled under section 159K, apart from subsection 159K(1A);
(aa) any rebate to which the taxpayer would be entitled under section 159L, apart from subsections 159L(3A), (5A) and (5B);
(b) any rebate to which the taxpayer is entitled under section 159J in respect of a dependant included in class 5 or 6 in the table in subsection 159J(2);
(ba) any rebate to which the taxpayer would be entitled under section 159J in respect of a dependant included in class 2 in the table in subsection 159J(2), apart from subsections 159J(1AA), (3AA) and (3AB);
(c) any rebate to which the taxpayer would, disregarding subsection 159J(1A), be entitled under section 159J in respect of a dependant included in class 3 or 4 in the table in subsection 159J(2);
(d) any rebate to which the taxpayer would be entitled under section 159J in respect of a dependant included in class 1 in the table in subsection 159J(2) (ignoring subsections 159J(1AA), (3AA) and (3AB)) if subsection 159J(1B) also included a reference to any dependant included in class 1 of that table and the amount applicable to class 1 of that table were $2,440.
Note 1: This definition lets a taxpayer include the dependent spouse rebate (without child), the child‑housekeeper rebate or the housekeeper rebate for the purpose of working out the relevant rebate amount under this section, even if the taxpayer or the taxpayer's spouse is eligible for family tax benefit at the Part B rate for the whole or part of a year.
Note 2: Another effect of the definition (see paragraph (d)) is to let a taxpayer include the dependent spouse rebate (with child), despite its abolition by the A New Tax System) (Consequential and Related Measures) Act (No. 1) 1999 , for the purpose of working out the relevant rebate amount.
"surface route" means a route other than an air route.
"the prescribed area" means the area comprised in Zone A and Zone B.
"urban centre" means an area that is described as an urban centre or bounded locality in the results of the Census of Population and Housing taken by the Australian Statistician on 30 June 1981, being the results published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in the documents entitled "Persons and Dwellings in Local Government Areas and Urban Centres".
"Zone A" means the area described in Part I of Schedule 2.
"Zone B" means the area described in Part II of Schedule 2.