|
ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 - Any Section 55 Constitutional Issues?
Bernard Pulle
Economics, Commerce and Industrial Relations Group
8 June 1999
Contents
Major
Issues Summary
Is the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 a 'law imposing
taxation'?
Role of Imposition Acts in the structure of the ANTS
Bills
Why has the GST to be Imposed by Three GST Imposition
Acts?
How is Sales Tax Imposed Under the Current Law and
How Does it Compare with the Proposed GST Imposition Laws?
Are Provisions in the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 which Refer
to the Rate of GST Laws Imposing Taxation?
Comparison with Provisions of the Fringe Benefits Tax
Assessment Act 1986
Does the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 Deal with
one Subject of Taxation?
Conclusion
Endnotes
Major
Issues Summary
The object of this paper is to examine whether any of
the provisions of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Bill 1998
(the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998) breach the requirements of section 55 of the
Constitution which reads as follows:
Laws imposing taxation shall deal only with the imposition
of taxation, and any provision therein dealing with any other matter
shall be of no effect.
Laws imposing taxation, except laws imposing duties
of customs or of excise, shall deal with one subject of taxation only;
but laws imposing duties of customs shall deal with duties of customs
only, and laws imposing duties of excise shall deal with duties of
excise only.
As will be seen from the above, the first paragraph of
section 55 provides that laws imposing taxation can only deal with the
imposition of tax and any other matter covered by that legislation will
be of no effect. The purpose of this provision is to prevent the tacking
of unrelated non-taxation matters onto taxation Bills which the Senate
is unable to amend under section 53 of the Constitution. The first issue
considered in this paper is whether the A New Tax System (Goods and Services
Tax) Bill 1998 is a law imposing taxation and whether it includes any
provisions which may be said to be laws imposing taxation under section
55 of the Constitution.
The second paragraph of section 55 provides that laws
imposing taxation shall deal with one subject of taxation only. The second
issue considered in this paper is whether the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 deals
with only one subject of taxation. The second
issue will not arise if it is concluded that the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998
does not have provisions which are laws imposing taxation for the purposes
of section 55 of the Constitution.
Is
the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 a 'law imposing taxation'?
Role
of Imposition Acts in the structure of the ANTS Bills
The Bills(1) to implement A New Tax System (the ANTS
Bills) are structured on the basis that the provisions to impose the goods
and services tax (GST) are to be found only in the following Bills:
- A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition-General) Bill
1998
- A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition-Customs) Bill
1998, and
- A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition-Excise) Bill 1998.
Clause 2-1 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services
Tax) Bill 1998 (ANTS (GST) Bill 1998) states this explicitly:
This Act is about the GST.
It begins (in Chapter 2) with the basic rules about
the GST and then sets out in Chapter 3 the exemptions from the GST
and in Chapter 4 the special rules that can apply in particular cases.
It concludes with definitions and other interpretative
material.
Note: The GST is imposed by 3 Acts:
(a) the A New Tax System (Goods and Services
Tax Imposition-General) Act 1998; and
(b) the A New Tax System (Goods and Services
Tax Imposition-Customs) Act 1998; and
(c) the A New Tax System (Goods and Services
Tax Imposition-Excise) Act 1998.
The Note to Clause 2-1 emphasises the fact that the GST
is imposed only by the above mentioned Acts. The above Acts will be collectively
referred to in this paper as the GST Imposition Acts. It is also relevant
to note that GST has been defined in clause 195-1 of the ANTS (GST) Bill
1998 to mean that it is 'tax that is payable under the GST law and imposed
as goods and services tax by any of' the GST Imposition Acts.
GST law has been defined in clause 195-1 of the ANTS
(GST) Bill 1998 as follows:
GST law means:
(a) this Act; and
(b) any Act that imposes GST; and
(c) the A New Tax System (Goods and Services
Tax Transition) Act 1998; and
(d) the Taxation Administration Act 1953,
so far as it relates to any Act covered by paragraphs (a) to (c);
and
(e) any other Act, so far as it relates to any
Act covered by paragraphs (a) to (d) (or to so much of that Act as
is covered); and
(f) regulations under any Act, so far as they
relate to any Act covered by paragraphs (a) to (e) (or to so much
of that Act as is covered).
To avoid a contravention of section 55 the normal procedure
is to separate the law imposing taxation from the law which sets up the
machinery for assessment and collection. The rating Act too can be separate,
e.g. the legislative framework relating to income tax is as follows:
- Income Tax Act 1986 (imposes the liability)
- Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (sets up the machinery for assessment
and collection), and
- Income Tax Rates Act 1986 (fixes the rate).
The separation of the GST Imposition Acts from the ANTS
(GST)Bill 1998 is intended to comply with the provisions of section 55
of the Constitution.
Why
has the GST to be Imposed by Three GST Imposition Acts?
It was mentioned above that the GST is the tax that is
payable under GST law and imposed as goods and services tax by any of
the three GST Imposition Acts. The GST Imposition Acts envisage that in
certain circumstances the tax on goods and services may be a customs duty
or an excise duty or a mere tax under section 55 of the Constitution.
Thus clause 3 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services
Tax Imposition-General) Bill 1998 (the GST General Imposition Bill) provides
as follows:
3
Imposition
- The tax that is payable under the GST law (within the meaning of the
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1998) is imposed
by this section under the name of goods and services tax (GST).
- This section imposes GST only so far as that tax is neither a duty
of customs nor a duty of excise within the meaning of section 55 of
the Constitution.
Similarly clause 3 of the A New Tax System (Goods and
Services Tax Imposition-Excise) Bill 1998 (the GST Excise Duty Imposition
Bill) provides as follows:
3 Imposition
- The tax that is payable under the GST law (within the meaning of the
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1998) is imposed
by this section under the name of goods and services tax (GST).
- This section imposes GST only so far as that tax is a duty of excise
within the meaning of section 55 of the Constitution.
Also, clause 3 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services
Tax Imposition-Customs) Bill 1998 (the GST Customs Duty Imposition Bill)
provides as follows:
3
Imposition
- The tax that is payable under the GST law (within the meaning of the
A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1998) is imposed
by this section under the name of goods and services tax (GST).
- This section imposes GST only so far as that tax is a duty of customs
within the meaning of section 55 of the Constitution.
The Explanatory Memorandum to each Imposition Bill clarifies
the constitutional requirements for separate Imposition Acts as follows:
(2)
Constitutional requirements
1.3 Imposition laws must be separate. The
Constitution requires that laws imposing taxation deal only with the
imposition of taxation. To the extent that a law imposing taxation
deals with anything apart from the imposition of the tax, those other
parts of the law will be of no effect (Section 55 of the Constitution).
A tax includes a duty of customs and a duty of excise.
1.4 One subject of taxation:
The Constitution requires that laws imposing a duty of customs and
laws imposing a duty of excise must be in separate Acts. (Section
55 of the Constitution).
Thus given that the tax on goods and services may in
certain circumstances be a duty of excise, or a duty of customs or a mere
tax it was necessary to have three GST Imposition Acts to comply with
the requirements of section 55 of the Constitution. (3)
The Explanatory Memorandum to the A New Tax System (Goods
and Services Tax Imposition 3/4 General) Bill 1998 confirms this outcome:
1.2 The A New Tax System (Goods and Services
Tax Imposition 3/4 General) Bill 1998 is one of the 3 Bills which
will formally impose the GST on the supplies and importations that
are to be subject to the GST. There are 3 Bills for constitutional
reasons. The GST will comprise tax:
- that is a duty of customs (A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax
Imposition 3/4 Customs) Act 1998)
- that is a duty of excise (A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax
Imposition 3/4 Excise) Act 1998)
- that is neither a duty of customs nor a duty of excise (A New Tax
System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition 3/4 General) Bill 1998).
How
is Sales Tax Imposed Under the Current Law and How Does it Compare with
the Proposed GST Imposition Laws?
The following Acts are the core of the current sales
tax law which commenced on 1 January 1993:
- the Sales Tax Assessment Act 1992, which defines the situations
in which sales tax is payable and also has rules about ancillary matters
such as registration, quoting, time for payment
- the Sales Tax (Exemptions and Classifications) Act 1992, which
contains a list of goods that are exempt, either generally or in particular
situations; and also sets out the rates of sales tax that apply to different
classes of goods, and
- the following Acts, which formally impose sales tax are separate Acts
to comply with the requirements of section 55 of the Constitution:
Sales Tax Imposition (Customs) Act 1992
Sales Tax Imposition (Excise) Act 1992
Sales Tax Imposition (General) Act 1992,
and
Sales Tax Imposition (In Situ Pools) Act 1992.
Thus section 3 of the Sales Tax Imposition (General)
Act 1992 states as follows:
Section 3 Imposition
3(1) [Imposition of tax] The tax that is payable
under the Sales Tax Assessment Act 1992 is imposed by this
section under the name of sales tax.
3(2) [Tax imposes neither duty of customs nor
excise] This section imposes sales tax only so far as that tax is
not:
(a) a duty of customs or a duty of excise
within the meaning of section 55 of the Constitution; or
(b) tax imposed by section 3 of the Sales
Tax Imposition (In Situ Pools) Act 1992.
It will thus be seen that the GST Imposition Acts follow
closely the structure of imposing sales tax under the sales tax regime.
Further, the ANTS (GST) Act 1998 takes the place of the Sales Tax Assessment
Act 1992 under the sales tax regime.
It will also be noted that the Sales Tax (Exemptions
and Classifications) Act 1992 contains a list of goods that are exempt,
either generally or in particular situations; and also sets out the rates
of sales tax that apply to different classes of goods. Thus the Sales
Tax (Exemptions and Classifications) Act 1992 is in fact a rating
Act.
In the case of the Bills implementing ANTS there is no
separate rating Act (or Bill at this stage) in view of the uniform rate
of 10 per cent applicable to all taxable supplies and taxable importations.
Proposed clause 4 of each GST Imposition Bill provides:
4
Rate
The rate of goods and services tax payable under
the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1998 is 10 per cent.
As will be seen, on the basis of the dicta in Re Dymond
discussed below, there is no contravention of the provisions of section
55 by including the rate of 10 per cent in the GST Imposition Acts.
Are
Provisions in the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 which Refer to the Rate of GST
Laws Imposing Taxation?
The ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 sets out the machinery for the
assessment and collection of the GST. As mentioned earlier it begins (in
Chapter 2) with the basic rules about the GST, and then sets out in Chapter
3 the exemptions from the GST and in Chapter 4 the special rules that
can apply in particular cases. It concludes with definitions and other
interpretative material.
The GST Imposition Acts, as indicated above, provide
that the rate of goods and services tax payable under the A New Tax
System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1998 is 10 per cent. There are
two provisions in the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 which state that GST is payable
at 10 per cent on taxable supplies and taxable importations and it is
necessary to examine whether they are laws imposing taxation under section
55 of the Constitution.
Thus clause 9-70 provides:
The amount of GST on a taxable supply is 10 per cent
of the value of the taxable supply.
Clause 9-75 provides a formula to determine the value
of a taxable supply. The Explanatory Memorandum states that 'With a GST
rate of 10% the value of a taxable supply is 10/11 of the price paid for
the supply'.(4)
Proposed subclause 13-20(1) provides
The amount of GST on the taxable importation is 10%
of the value of the taxable importation.
The Explanatory Memorandum states that the amount of
GST on a taxable importation is the value of the taxable importation multiplied
by the rate of GST.(5) Proposed subclause 13-20(2) provides that the value
of taxable importations is the cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value,
i.e. the customs value (free on board (FOB)) plus the costs of freight,
insurance and customs duty. The question arises whether the above provisions
and the provisions of the following Acts (presently Bills) which set the
rate of GST at 10 per cent are part of the laws imposing the GST.
- A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition-General)
Act 1998
- A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition-Customs) Act
1998
- A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition-Excise) Act
1998?
It will be noted that clause 9-70 and subclause 13-20(1)
both deal with 'the amount of the GST' and use the rate of GST of 10 per
cent set by the GST Imposition Acts in calculating the total amount of
GST payable. They deal with how the GST payable is to be worked out on
the basis of the rate of GST set by the GST Imposition Acts and cannot
be said to determine the rate of GST.
Comparison
with Provisions of the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986
A similar provision exists in section 136AA of the Fringe
Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 where the fringe benefits taxable
amount is determined by grossing up the aggregate fringe benefits by reference
to the rate of FBT.
136AA A reference in this Act to the fringe benefits
taxable amount in relation to an employer in relation to a year of
tax is a reference to the amount worked out using the formula:

where:
''Aggregate fringe benefits amount'' means the aggregate
fringe benefits amount in relation to the employer in relation to
the year of tax;
''FBT rate'' means the rate of tax applicable for
the year of tax .
The FBT rate for the year of tax is set by section 6
of the Fringe Benefits Tax Act 1986 which provides as follows:
The rate of tax in respect of the fringe benefits
taxable amount of an employer of a year of tax is 48.5%.
This is another instance where in the light of dicta
in High Court decisions legislation has been framed to separate an Assessment
Act from an Imposition or Taxing Act to comply with the requirements of
section 55. Following the decision in Osborne v Commonwealth which
was confirmed in FCT v Munro and Re Dymond it is accepted
that laws relating to the assessment and collection of tax are not 'laws
imposing tax' in the sense that this phrase is used in section 55.(6)
In the words of Fullagar J in Re Dymond, at page 21:
provisions for administration and machinery, the
appointment and powers and duties of a commissioner of taxation, the
making of returns and assessments, the determination of questions
of law and fact relating to liability, the collection and recovery
of tax, the punishment of offences, stand on a different footing.
They 'deal with' matters which must be dealt with if the imposition
of the tax is to be effective. But they cannot be said to deal with
the imposition of taxation, because their subject matter is not comprehended
within the meaning of the term 'imposition of taxation'. The creation
of a liability and (for example) the enforcement of the liability
by civil or criminal proceedings are different subject matters. 'Dealing
with the imposition of taxation' is a different thing from 'dealing
with taxation', and the former expression does not mean or include
'dealing with matters incidental to the imposition of taxation'.
As Latham CJ noted in Cadbury-Fry-Pascall Pty Ltd
v Federal Commissioner of Taxation the practice adopted by Parliament
of enacting both a Tax Act and an Assessment Act is in accordance with
the pronouncement of the High Court to meet the requirements of sections
53 and 55 of the Constitution.(7)
This practice has been recognised by this Court as
carrying out the constitutional provisions upon a correct basis. It
has been held on several occasions that various Assessment Acts do
not impose taxation, and it has been so held though such Acts contain
provisions that a person should be liable to pay tax or be chargeable
with tax.
These words of Latham CJ were cited with approval by
Mason CJ, Wilson, Dawson, Toohey and Gaudron JJ in the Second Fringe
Benefits Tax Case.(8) In this case these justices also noted that
Isaacs J had in the Commonwealth v Melbourne Harbour Trust Commissioners
taken the view that the provisions of an Assessment Act dealing with
the collection and recovery of tax, assessments, objections, appeals,
offences and penalties were not provisions dealing with the imposition
of taxation.(9) These justices also recalled that although a contrary
view had been taken by Higgins and Starke JJ in Munro and by Latham
CJ in Moore v The Commonwealth, a majority of the High Court had
vindicated the opinion of Isaacs J in Re Dymond. (10)It
must be noted that Re Dymond was decided by the High Court on the
basis that the provisions of the section 46 of the Sales Tax Assessment
Act (No 1) 1930-1953 which imposed minimum additional tax in the sum
of 1 for failure to lodge returns was in fact not a tax but a penalty.
Hence section 55 had no application and the dicta of Fullagar J and those
of Dixon CJ, Kitto, Taylor and Windeyer JJ on the requirements of the
first paragraph of section 55 of the Constitution in Re Dymond
must be considered obiter. However, the adoption of the dicta of Fullagar
J in the Second Fringe Benefits Tax Case must be taken to settle
the question that an Assessment Act is not a law imposing taxation in
the meaning of that expression in section 55 of the Constitution.
Thus the provisions of clause 9-70 and subclause 13-20(1)
of the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 are provisions dealing with questions of liability
and are not laws imposing taxation in the dicta of Fullagar J. The writer
therefore takes the view that the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 is not a law imposing
taxation for the purposes of section 55 of the Constitution. It is also
not a law imposing duties of customs or excise for the purposes of section
55 of the Constitution.
It will be noted that Fullagar J in Re Dymond does
not refer to the rates of tax in the list of items which he classifies
as matters not coming within the expression 'imposition of taxation'.
Whilst the list of excluded items may not be taken as comprehensive, an
item so significant as the rate of tax may not have been lightly passed
over in stating the elements that fell outside the expression 'imposition
of taxation'. It may therefore mean that an Act imposing tax may include
the rates of tax without contravening the provisions of section 55 of
the Constitution. Thus the GST Imposition Acts which set the rate of GST
at 10 per cent while imposing the GST will not contravene the provisions
in the first paragraph of section 55 of the Constitution. This is similar
to the Fringe Benefits Tax Act 1986 which by section 5 imposes
tax in respect of the fringe benefits taxable amount of an employer and
in section 6 sets the rate of tax at 48.5 per cent.
Does
the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 Deal with one Subject of Taxation?
The second paragraph of section 55 provides that laws
imposing taxation shall deal with one subject of taxation only and it
is proposed to consider whether the provisions of the ANTS (GST) Bill
deal with only one subject of taxation. As will be seen from the terms
of the second paragraph of section 55 set out below it will apply only
to laws imposing taxation.
Laws imposing taxation, except laws imposing duties
of customs or of excise, shall deal with one subject of taxation only;
but laws imposing duties of customs shall deal with duties of customs
only, and laws imposing duties of excise shall deal with duties of
excise only.
In view of the conclusion reached in the previous paragraph
of this paper that there do not appear to be any provisions in the ANTS
(GST) Bill 1998 which may be said to be laws imposing taxation for the
purposes of the first paragraph of section 55 of the Constitution, the
only reason for pursuing this inquiry in this paper is to consider this
question in the unlikely event that the High Court holds that there are
provisions in the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 which are laws imposing taxation.
The Executive Summary of the Explanatory Memorandum to
the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 succinctly states that the GST is a tax on private
consumption in Australia. While this is the objective, the methods used
to achieve this may determine whether the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 deals with
only one subject of taxation for the purposes of section 55 of the Constitution.
The Executive Summary of the Explanatory Memorandum continues
as follows:
The GST taxes the consumption of most goods, services
and anything else in Australia, including things that are imported.
Generally the GST will not apply to consumption outside Australia,
which is why the GST does not apply to exports.
This is generally achieved by:
- imposing tax on supplies made by entities registered for GST; but
- allowing those entities to offset the GST they are liable to pay on
supplies they make against input tax credits for the GST that
was included in the price they paid for their business inputs.(11)
Clause 7-1 of the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 states that GST
is payable on taxable supplies and taxable importations. The question
to be considered is whether the tax on taxable supplies and taxable importations
to achieve the objective of taxing the final private consumption of goods
and services is one subject of taxation for the purposes of the second
paragraph of section 55 of the Constitution.
Isaacs J in Harding v Federal Commissioner of Taxation
provided the test for ascertaining whether the subject of taxation imposed
by an Act was single.(12)
The test, in my opinion, is whether, looking at the
subject matter which is dealt with as if it were a unit by Parliament,
it can then, in the aspect in which it has been so dealt with, be
fairly regarded as a unit, or whether it then consists of matters
necessarily distinct and separate.
This test was adopted by Dixon J in Resch v Federal
Commissioner of Taxation.(13)
The decisions of the Court do not deny that an enactment
which offends against the second paragraph of section 55 of the Constitution
is invalid. But they uniformly refuse to give to words 'one subject
of taxation' any narrow or inflexible application.
The purpose of section 55 was to protect the Senate
from any possible abuse of the restriction placed upon it by section
53, which provides that the Senate may not amend proposed laws imposing
taxation. The protection consists in 'guarding the Senate from compulsive
acquiescence in one tax by the moral necessity of passing another
distinct tax. To secure that end the test is unity of subject matter
of taxation in each measure, so that each proposed tax may be fairly
considered on its merits'.
It was also adopted by the High Court in the Second
Fringe Benefits Tax Case.(14)
Thus the High Court will not give to the words 'one subject
of taxation' in the second paragraph of section 55 a narrow construction.
The ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 deals with a tax on the final private consumption
of goods and services and the High Court is likely to examine its provisions
from the benchmark set out in the Executive Summary of the Explanatory
Memorandum to the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 that it deals with the taxation
of final private consumption in Australia.(15) The test will be whether
the unit of taxation in the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 covers the taxation of
the consumption of goods and services in the generally accepted meaning
of a consumption tax. This would be the tax that causes the cost of goods
and services to the final consumer to generally rise in consequence of
its imposition at various taxing points in the chain of supply of goods
and services. It is unlikely to be a legal or economic analysis of the
tax or taxes dealt with by the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998. The analysis therefore
required prior to concluding whether the provisions of the second paragraph
of section 55 have been breached is a broad understanding of what the
general subject of the taxation measures dealt with in the ANTS (GST)
Bill 1998 is about.
There is support for this approach in the dicta of Dixon
J in Resch:
The expression 'subject of taxation' appears to suppose
that some recognised classification of taxes exist according to subject
matter. But in fact that was never so. Economists and lawyers have
for their different purposes referred taxes to categories, the one
for their incidence and economic consequences and the other for the
legal mechanism employed to secure their collection and for their
operation upon the creation, transfer and devolution of rights. But
these are not the considerations to which section 55 is directed.
It is concerned with political relations, and must be taken as contemplating
broad distinctions between possible subjects of taxation based on
common understanding and general conceptions, rather than on any analytical
or logical classification.(16)
In this view of Dixon J of the meaning of subject of
taxation, the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 may be said to deal with the taxation
of final private consumption of goods and services in Australia and may
be said to deal with one subject of taxation-the GST in the general understanding
of that term. Dixon J adds that it is for the legislature to make a choice
of the all inclusive nature of the subject of taxation to be dealt with
in any enactment or enactments.
The practice of the British legislature and of Dominion
and colonial legislatures may serve as a guide in determining whether
a provision of a given kind is regarded as falling within a particular
subject matter. What is the subject matter of tax may be gathered
from a general consideration of the enactment or enactments in question,
remembering, however, that it is for the legislature to choose its
own subject and that its choice is fettered neither by existing nomenclature
nor by categories that have been adopted for other purposes.(17)
The choice referred to in the above paragraph can only
have a meaning in the context of the Westminster system of government
where a majority in each of the two Houses of Parliament decides the choice
made by Parliament. It is unlikely to include a requirement that there
must be unanimous approval in each House of Parliament, as the Westminster
system of parliamentary democracy does not work on that basis.
The role of Parliament in deciding whether there was
non-compliance with the provisions of the second paragraph of section
55 of the Constitution was reiterated by the High Court in the Second
Fringe Benefits Tax Case as follows:(18)
Although the Court is bound to insist on compliance
with the requirements of s. 55 so that the section achieves its purpose
of enabling the Senate to confine its consideration in each case to
a taxing statute dealing with a single subject of taxation, in applying
the test stated above, the Court will naturally give weight to the
Parliament's understanding that its Tax Act deals with one subject
of taxation only. This is because the application of the test involves
what is in substance a question of fact or value judgment. The Court
should not resolve such a question against the Parliament's understanding
with the consequence that the statute is constitutionally invalid,
unless the answer is clear: see National Trustees, Executors and
Agency Co. of Australia Ltd. v Federal Commissioner of Taxation(86);
Harding(87); Resch(88).(19)
Thus if the question of the subject of taxation in a
particular Bill has been addressed by the Parliament and both Houses of
Parliament have passed the Bill on the understanding that there has been
no breach of the requirement in the second paragraph of section 55 in
regard to it dealing with one subject of taxation, the High Court is unlikely
to interfere with that decision of Parliament unless there is a clear
provision in that Bill to the contrary effect. In the case of the ANTS
(GST) Bill 1998 this question has been raised in the Senate and if it
is finally passed on the basis that it deals with only one subject of
taxation, the High Court is unlikely to declare it invalid unless there
are provisions clearly indicating the contrary effect.(20) It must be
noted that the nature of the subject of taxation dealt with in any law
could be gathered not only from the provisions in one particular Act but
from a consideration of all connected Acts. In the case of the ANTS (GST)
Bill 1998 the nature of the subject of taxation dealt with may be gathered
from an overview of the package of ANTS Bills.(21)
However, after the broad test of the subject of taxation
dealt with in any particular Act is ascertained, the Court will still
examine whether any particular provision has introduced a new or second
subject of taxation which may offend the second paragraph of section 55
of the Constitution.
Where the main or substantial subject of the tax
has thus been ascertained, then the question whether particular provisions
directed at defining or widening the area or incidence of the tax
or liability to it or preventing avoidance or evasion or facilitating
collection have in truth introduced a new or second subject must be
determined by considering their natural connection with or relevance
to the main subject.(22)
The writer takes the view that the scheme for the introduction
of the taxation of goods and services as can be gathered from the ANTS
Bills is that it deals with one subject of taxation i.e. the taxation
of the final private consumption of goods and services in Australia specified
in the ANTS Bills. The term 'goods' has been defined in clause 195-1 of
the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 to mean any form of tangible personal property
and the term 'thing' has been defined in the same clause to mean anything
that can be supplied or imported. The ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 has rules to
assess the final private consumption of various types of tangible personal
property and services on which tax is to be imposed by the GST Imposition
Acts. The starting point in this assessment is taxable supplies of goods
and services as well as taxable importations but what is taxed is the
final private consumption of goods and services.
It is similar in concept to the taxation of fringe benefits
under the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 (FBTAA 1986)
where a range of benefits not being salary or wages is subject to a single
fringe benefits tax (FBT). In the Second Fringe Benefits Tax Case
Mason CJ, Wilson, Dawson, Toohey and Gaudron JJ stated the following proposition
of the 'unity of subject matter' covered by the FBTAA 1986:
Clearly enough the legislation has been framed on
the footing that there is but a single subject of taxation, formulated
according to a broad conception of what constitutes fringe benefits.
That conception embraces benefits, not being salary or wages, referable
to the employment relationship, whether provided by the employer or
not and whether received by the employee or not. So understood the
legislation presented for the consideration of each House of the Parliament
a 'unity of subject matter' rather than distinct and separate subjects
of taxation.(23)
The High Court rejected the argument that the FBTAA 1986
deals with separate categories of fringe benefits, and that it applies
different criteria to each as if they were different subjects of taxation.
The range of benefits covered by the FBTAA 1986 included car fringe benefits,
debt waiver benefits, loan fringe benefits, expense payment fringe benefits,
housing benefits, airline transport fringe benefits, board fringe benefits
and property fringe benefits. Nevertheless, there was a 'unity of subject
matter' in that the FBTAA 1986 provided for the taxation of fringe benefits
regardless of the type of benefit rather than separate taxes on benefits
derived from different types of property.
In the case of the GST law the private consumption liable
to the GST includes the consumption of goods and services in Australia
arising from various types of taxable supplies and taxable importations.
The taxable supplies cover a wide range of goods and services including
the supply of residential premises, sale of freehold interests, offshore
supplies of other than goods and real property and financial supplies.
Nevertheless, the 'unity of subject matter' in the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998
is the taxation of final private consumption of goods and services in
Australia.
Conclusion
The ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 is not a law imposing taxation
and it does not include provisions which may be laws imposing taxation
under the first paragraph of section 55 of the Constitution. It is also
not a law imposing duties of customs or duties of excise for the purpose
of section 55 of the Constitution.
As such it is not necessary to consider whether the ANTS
(GST) Bill 1998 deals with one subject of taxation. In the unlikely event
that the ANTS (GST) Bill 1998 is held by the High Court to be a law imposing
taxation, it deals with only one subject of taxation and that is that
it deals with the imposition of taxation on the final private consumption
of certain goods and services in Australia.
Endnotes
- A list of the Bills is set out below:
- A New Tax System (Aged Care Compensation Measures Legislation Amendment)
Bill 1998
- A New Tax System (Australian Business Number Consequential Amendments)
Bill 1998
- A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Bill 1998
- A New Tax System (Bonuses for Older Australians) Bill 1998
- A New Tax System (Commonwealth-State Financial Arrangements) Bill
1999
- A New Tax System (Commonwealth-State Financial Arrangements-Consequential
Provisions) Bill 1999
- A New Tax System (Compensation Measures Legislation Amendment) Bill
1998
- A New Tax System (End of Sales Tax) Bill 1998
- A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Consequential and Related
Measures) Bill (No. 1) 1999
- A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Bill 1999
- A New Tax System (Fringe Benefits Reporting) Bill 1998
- A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Administration) Bill 1998
- A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition-Customs) Bill
1998
- A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition-Excise) Bill
1998
- A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition-General) Bill
1998
- A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Transition) Bill 1998
- A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Bill 1998
- A New Tax System (Income Tax Laws Amendment) Bill 1998
- A New Tax System (Indirect Tax Administration) Bill 1999
- A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition-Customs) Bill 1999
- A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition-Excise) Bill 1999
- A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition-General) Bill 1999
- A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Bill 1999
- A New Tax System (Medicare Levy Surcharge-Fringe Benefits) Bill
1998
- A New Tax System (Personal Income Tax Cuts) Bill 1998
- A New Tax System (Trade Practices Amendment) Bill 1998
- A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax and Luxury Car Tax Transition)
Bill 1999
- A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax Imposition-Customs) Bill
1999
- A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax Imposition-Excise) Bill
1999
- A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax Imposition-General) Bill
1999
- A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax) Bill 1999.
- Explanatory Memorandum to the A New Tax System (Goods and Services
Tax Imposition3/4 General) Bill 1998, p. 1.
- Reference should be made to Bills Digest No. 76 1998-99 Primary
Industries (Excise) Levies Bill 1998 as to when an imposition would
be a tax, a duty of excise or a duty of customs.
- ibid., paragraph 3.14, p. 31
- ibid., paragraph 3.52, p. 41.
- (1911) 12 CLR 321, (1926) 38 CLR 153 and (1958-59) 101 CLR 11 respectively.
- (1944) 70 CLR 362 at p. 373.
- State Chamber of Commerce and Industry v The Commonwealth of Australia
(1987) 163 CLR 329.
- (1922) 31 CLR 1 at p. 14.
- (1926) 38 CLR 153 at pp. 209, 215-216; (1951) 82 CLR 547 at p. 564
and (1958-59) 101 CLR 11 at pp. 19-21 respectively.
- Explanatory Memorandum to the A New Tax System (Goods and Services
Tax) Bill 1998; Executive Summary; p. 6.
- (1917) 23 CLR 119 at p. 135.
- (1941-1942) 66 CLR 198 at pp. 222-223.
- State Chamber of Commerce and Industry v The Commonwealth of Australia
(1987) 163 CLR 329 at p. 344.
- Explanatory Memorandum to the A New Tax System (Goods and Services
Tax) Bill 1998; Executive Summary; p. 6.
- (1941-1942) 66 CLR 198 at pp. 223.
- ibid., p. 223.
- State Chamber of Commerce and Industry v The Commonwealth of Australia
(1987) 163 CLR 329 at p. 344.
- (86) (1916) 22 CLR 367 at pp.378-379.
(87) (1917) 23 CLR at pp. 134-136.
(88) (1942) 66 CLR, at p. 211.
- Senate Hansard, 23 April 1999, p. 3668.
- This may include any of the Bills listed in Endnote 1.
- Resch v Federal Commission of Taxation (1941-1942) 66 CLR 198
at pp. 223.
- State Chamber of Commerce and Industry v The Commonwealth of Australia
(1987) 163 CLR 329 at p. 349.
|