Sales Tax Amendment Act (No. 4) 1981
No. 136 of 1981
An Act to amend the Sales Tax Act (No. 4) 1930
[Assented to 30 September 1981]
BE IT ENACTED by The Queen, and the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:
Short title, &c.
1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Sales Tax Amendment Act (No. 4) 1981.
(2) The Sales Tax Act (No. 4) 19301 is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act.
Commencement
2. This Act shall be deemed to have come into operation on 19 August 1981.
3. Sections 3 and 4 of the Principal Act are repealed and the following sections are substituted:
Imposition of tax
“3. Sales tax is imposed, at the rates specified in section 4, upon the sale value of goods manufactured in Australia and sold to a taxpayer who has, on or after 19 August 1981, applied those goods to his own use.
Rates of tax
“4. The rates of the sales tax imposed by this Act are—
(a) in respect of goods covered by the Second Schedule to the Sales Tax (Exemptions and Classifications) Act 1935—30%;
(b) in respect of goods covered by the Third Schedule to that Act—5%;
(c) in respect of goods covered by the Fourth or Fifth Schedule to that Act—17.5%; and
(d) in respect of goods not covered by the Second, Third, Fourth or Fifth Schedule to that Act and on the sale value of which it is not provided by that Act that the Sales tax imposed by this Act shall not be payable—17.5%.”.
Saving
4. Where, before the commencement of this Act, sales tax was imposed by the provisions repealed by this Act upon the sale value of any goods, that sales tax continues to be imposed as if those provisions had not been repealed.
NOTE
1. No. 32, 1930, as amended. For previous amendments, see No. 32, 1931; No. 35, 1936; No. 33, 1938; No. 19, 1939; Nos. 6 and 80, 1940; No. 36, 1941; No. 10, 1942; No. 48, 1943; No. 61, 1946; No. 58, 1949; No. 41, 1950; No. 67, 1951; No. 48, 1952; No. 57, 1953; No. 49, 1954; No. 9, 1956; No. 75, 1957; No. 92. 1960; Nos. 5 and 80, 1961; No. 8, 1962; No. 79, 1964; No, 91, 1968; No. 72, 1970; No. 18, 1975; and No. 147, 1978.
Overview
The Sales Tax Amendment Act (No. 4) 1981 was enacted to amend the Sales Tax Act (No. 4) 1930 and address the need for updated tax rates and classifications in response to economic changes and policy shifts. This Act was passed by the Commonwealth Parliament and received royal assent on 30 September 1981. It sought to modernise the tax framework by repealing certain sections of the Principal Act and substituting them with new provisions to better align with contemporary economic conditions and policy objectives. The amendments introduced new tax rates for different categories of goods and ensured the continuity of tax obligations for sales that occurred before the Act's commencement.
Scope and Application
The Sales Tax Amendment Act (No. 4) 1981 applies to the sale value of goods manufactured in Australia and sold to a taxpayer who applies those goods to their own use on or after the Act's commencement date of 19 August 1981. This Act amends the Sales Tax Act (No. 4) 1930 by repealing sections 3 and 4 of the Principal Act and substituting new provisions. The Act imposes a sales tax on the sale value of goods manufactured in Australia and applies to the specified rates, dependent on the classification of the goods under the Sales Tax (Exemptions and Classifications) Act 1935. The Act extends to the entire Commonwealth of Australia and applies to all sales of goods within its jurisdiction. Exemptions and thresholds are determined by the classifications under the 1935 Act. The application of this Act may be further defined or restricted by subordinate instruments, though such details are not elaborated upon in the primary text.
Key Provisions
The Sales Tax Amendment Act (No. 4) 1981 amends the Sales Tax Act (No. 4) 1930 by replacing and repealing certain sections, and introducing new rates of sales tax. Section 3 of the Principal Act is repealed and substituted with a new provision that imposes sales tax at specified rates on the sale value of goods manufactured in Australia and sold to a taxpayer who applies those goods to their own use on or after 19 August 1981. The rates of sales tax are outlined in section 4, with different percentages applying to goods classified under different schedules in the Sales Tax (Exemptions and Classifications) Act 1935, and a default rate of 17.5% for goods not covered by those schedules.
Entities and individuals subject to the Act must adhere to the new sales tax rates as specified in section 4. Manufacturers and sellers of goods must calculate the sales tax based on the new rates and include it in the sale value of goods sold to taxpayers who will use the goods for their own purposes. This applies to goods sold on or after the Act's commencement date of 19 August 1981. The obligation to apply the correct sales tax rate extends to all goods not exempted by the Sales Tax (Exemptions and Classifications) Act 1935.
The Act also includes provisions for continuity in tax obligations. Section 4 ensures that sales tax imposed before the Act's commencement continues to apply as if the repealed provisions had not been altered. This transitional measure aims to maintain the tax burden on certain sales without interruption. Breach of the Act's provisions, such as failure to correctly apply the sales tax rates, may result in penalties. The exact nature of these penalties is not detailed in the provided text but typically could include fines or other financial penalties under applicable tax laws. The maximum penalties would depend on the specific provisions of the broader tax legislation in force at the time of the breach.