Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities, Carers and the Voluntary Sector) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Tax Laws Amendment (Transfer of Provisions) Bill 2010. This bill makes no policy changes; this bill is about a rewrite. Specifically it seeks to rewrite five provisions from the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 into the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and the Taxation Administration Act 1953. Essentially the rewritten provisions relate to the collection and recovery of income tax, commercial debt forgiveness, luxury car leases, farm management deposits and general insurance. The bill deals with five schedules which I will outline very briefly.

Schedule 1 of the bill rewrites the remaining sections of part 6 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 into the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and the Taxation Administration Act 1953. Part 6 contains rules about the collection and recovery of income tax including rules about when income tax becomes due and payable, rules allowing the commissioner to make estimates of certain tax debts and to take recovery action based on those estimates and rules imposing penalties on directors of a company that fails to pay certain tax debts.

The rewritten rules of collection and recovery include giving the commissioner power to seek security from a taxpayer for an existing or future tax liability in certain situations such as a serious risk of tax liability not being paid. It also includes expanding security deposit rules to cover all taxes administered by the commissioner and new machinery rules and higher penalties for non-compliance.

Schedule 2 relates to commercial debt forgiveness. It rewrites the remaining schedule 2E to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 into the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and contains the rules of the income tax treatment of the gains made when a taxpayer’s debt is forgiven. I know you have been hanging out for that one, Madam Acting Deputy President.