EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Regulations (Amendment)
Statutory Rule 1989 No. 320
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Transport and Communications
Section 9 of the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Act 1983 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing the amount of tax payable in respect of the grant of radiocommunications transmitter licences pursuant to section 24 of the Radiocommunications Act 1983. Section 7 of the Act provides that the amount of tax payable in respect of the grant of such a licence is an amount ascertained in accordance with the regulations.
Radiocommunications transmitter licences are divided into numerous classes under the Radiocommunications (Licensing and General) Regulations (the Licensing and General Regulations) made pursuant to the Radiocommunications Act.
The amending regulations increased the amounts of tax payable in respect of the grant of radiocommunications transmitter licences in accordance with decisions made by the Government in the Budget context. The taxes were increased by an average of 7.5%. Clauses 4(a) and (b) of the amending regulations substituted new tables at the foot of subregulations 4(1) and (2) increasing the amount of tax in those tables. Clause 5 substituted a new Schedule to the Regulations increasing the amounts of tax in the Schedule.
In the case of ‘Remote control stations’ (item 74 of the Schedule), the Minister decided that the amount of tax payable be reduced to the same amount payable in respect of ‘Mobile stations’ (item 65 of the Schedule).
Items 14, 15, 16 and 17 of the Schedule were amended by providing that the taxes specified in relation to those classes of licence be payable in respect of each transmitter frequency used.
Clause 3 of the amendments inserts a new paragraph “(aa) ambulatory service (low frequency)” into the definition of “service” in subregulation 2(1) of the Regulations. This amendment is consequential to an amendment to the Licensing and General Regulations which inserts this new class of licence into Schedule 1 of those regulations.
Subregulation 4(3) of the Regulations puts a cap on the taxes payable in relation to the various classes of fixed
stations Class C, by providing that where more than 4 transmission paths are used, the tax payable is equivalent to that payable in respect of 4 transmission paths. Clause 4(c) of the amendments amends subregulation 4(3) to provide that the fee cap only applies to those licences where the operating frequency is between 30 MHz and 1 GHz.
The amending regulations commence on 1 December 1989.