The Assistant Treasurer, David Bradbury, today released draft Regulations for public consultation specifying the GST treatment of certain Australian taxes, fees and charges.
The Regulations provide that certain taxes, fees and charges are either taxable or GST exempt, consistent with the principles agreed between the Commonwealth, States and Territories that are contained in the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations. The Regulations operate in conjunction with the new principle-based legislative exemption contained in Division 81 of the GST Act that came into force on 1 July 2011, replacing the previous 680 page Determination.
The draft Regulations also provide a longer transitional period to the new exemption mechanism by extending the grandfathering of the previous Division 81 Determination for a further 12 months until 30 June 2013.
The Regulations will ensure that the existing treatment of particular taxes, fees and charges will generally remain the same from 1 July 2012.
“These Regulations will provide certainty around the GST treatment of a range of taxes, fees and charges and I encourage stakeholders to make submissions to the Government on the exposure draft Regulations,” said Mr Bradbury.
The draft regulations and explanatory material can be found on the Treasury website. Submissions on the exposure draft close on 30 May 2012.