Bills Digest No. 157  1998-99 A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition-Customs) Bill 1999



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WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the Bill.

CONTENTS

Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Concluding Comments
Endnotes
Contact Officer and Copyright Details

Passage History

A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition-Customs) Bill 1999

Date Introduced: 24 March 1999

House: House of Representatives

Portfolio: Treasury

Commencement: 1 July 2000

Purpose

This Bill will impose the tax that is payable under the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Act 1999, but only in so far as it is a duty of customs.

Background

1.0 Exclusive Power Over Customs, Excise and Bounties

Section 90 of the Constitution prohibits the States from levying customs duties and excise duties. The expression of section 90 also prevents self-governing Territories from imposing customs and excise duties. By virtue of section 90, only the Federal Parliament can impose such taxes.

'A customs duty is a tax imposed on goods imported into, or exported out of, Australia. In contrast, an excise duty is a tax which is imposed on goods which are already in circulation in Australia.'(1)

2.0 Further Background

For additional background information, please refer to the Bills Digest for the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition-General) Bill 1999.

Main Provisions

1.0 Imposition

Subclause 3(1) states that the tax that is payable under the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Act 1999 is imposed by this section under the name of luxury car tax.(2)

Subclause 3(2) will impose LCT only so far as it is a duty of customs within the meaning of section 55 of the Constitution. Please refer to the discussion in the Background section of the Bills Digest for the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition-General) Bill 1999 at paragraph 4.0 for further information in relation to this issue.

2.0 Rate

Clause 4 will impose the rate of LCT payable under the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Bill 1999 at 25%.

3.0 State Property

Clause 5 will ensure that the legislation imposing the LCT does not apply to property of any kind belonging to a State.(3) The Territories are not included within the ambit of this section. Please refer to the discussion at paragraph 1.0 in the Concluding Comments section of the Bills Digest for the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition-General) Bill 1999 for further information in relation to this topic.

Concluding Comments

Please refer to the Bills Digest for the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition-General) Bill 1999.

Endnotes

  2. Lumb & Moens, The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia, Annotated, Fifth Edition, Butterworths, 1995, p. 438.

  3. Luxury car tax is defined in the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Bill 1999 to mean tax that is payable under the luxury car tax law and imposed as luxury car tax by any of these:

  2. the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition-General) Act 1999; or

  3. the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition-Customs) Act 1999;or

  4. the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition-Excise) Act 1999.

Luxury car tax law is defined in the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Bill 1999 to mean:

  2. this Act; and

  3. any Act that imposes luxury car tax; and

  4. the A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax and Luxury Car Tax Transition) Act 1999; and

  5. the Taxation Administration Act 1953, so far as it relates to any Act covered by paragraphs (a) to (c); and

  6. 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

  7. 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).

  2. Property of any kind belonging to a State has the same meaning as attributed to it by judicial interpretation in respect of section 114 of the Constitution. It is not actually defined in section 114.

Contact Officer and Copyright Details

Simon Lang
16 April 1999
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services

This paper has been prepared for general distribution to Senators and Members of the Australian Parliament. While great care is taken to ensure that the paper is accurate and balanced, the paper is written using information publicly available at the time of production. The views expressed are those of the author and should not be attributed to the Information and Research Services (IRS). Advice on legislation or legal policy issues contained in this paper is provided for use in parliamentary debate and for related parliamentary purposes. This paper is not professional legal opinion. Readers are reminded that the paper is not an official parliamentary or Australian government document.

IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's contents with Senators and Members
and their staff but not with members of the public.

ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 1999

Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior written consent of the Parliamentary Library, other than by Members of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official duties.

Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library, 1999.

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