Northern Territory Second Reading Speeches

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PAY-ROLL TAX AMENDMENT BILL (NO. 3) 2002

(This an uncorrected proof of the daily report. It is made available under the condition that it is recognised as such.)

Madam Speaker, I move that the bill now be read a second time.

The Pay-roll Tax Amendment Bill (No 3) will put in place two minor amendments to the Pay-roll Tax Act to clarify anomalies that could potentially hinder the recovery powers under the act. The first amendment addresses the Commissioner’s powers to recover tax liabilities from members of a payroll tax group. Where persons are grouped for payroll tax purposes the act allows a tax liability of a group member to be recovered from other members of the group. This amendment clarifies that this power includes the recovery of further and additional tax which is typically imposed as a penalty for the underpayment of tax from any member of a payroll tax group.

The second amendment relates to the Commissioner’s power to recover tax owed by an employer by way of requiring a person who owes money to any member of the payroll tax group to pay that amount to the Commissioner. However, an anomaly in the act only allows recovery in this manner to be made in respect of a group member who is also an employer. Therefore, while all group members are jointly and severally liable for tax, the Commissioner’s recovery powers are limited to those group members that are also employers at the time of the recovery. Accordingly, this amendment ensures that payments of money owed to any group member may be recovered to satisfy the group’s payroll tax liability regardless of whether the group member is an employer.

These changes align the Northern Territory’s recovery provisions more closely with the majority of states. Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to honourable members.

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