Output 6.1 Revenue Management

Output 6.1 Revenue Management

Overview

The directorate, through the Revenue Management Division, administers taxation legislation in the ACT and a number of assistance schemes.

In 2017-18 the directorate:

• provided advice on ACT taxation matters and the development and amendment of the Territory’s taxation legislation;
• was responsible for the Objections and Appeals Unit, which reviewed decisions involving ACT taxes, and deals with any subsequent appeals;
• administered rates, land tax, the fire and emergency services levy, land rent, deferred duty, city centre marketing and improvements levy, payroll tax and other return taxes, and undertook a debt recovery function;
• administered and provided advice on conveyance duty and financial assistance schemes;
• administered a range of concession schemes on behalf of the Territory;
• maintained and enforced compliance with all taxes, grants and concessions administered by the ACT Revenue Office;
• provided financial management reporting and web management services;
• administered the Rental Bonds function;
• administered the Home Loan Portfolio; and
• provided a range of valuation services to government including for statutory rating purposes, lease variation determinations and administrative reviews as well as expert testimony before the ACAT and Courts.

Highlights

During 2017-18 the directorate:

• collected more than $1.6 billion taxation revenue;
• generated $19.7 million in revenue (including penalties and interest) through compliance activities in 2017-18, 48% more than the 2016-17 result;
• launched the Barrier Free model of conveyance duty which no longer requires purchasers of property to contact the ACT Revenue Office. Information about property transactions is securely relayed to the ACT Revenue Office after the transaction is lodged at the Land Titles Office for duty verification and assessment;
• implemented a new revenue collection management IT platform with all return based taxes (including payroll tax) and conveyance duty being moved to the new system;
• deployed a new portal, the Self Service Portal (SSP) to allow taxpayers of return based taxes to register and lodge returns on line.  This portal being deployed in phased releases to tax payers;
• launched a new ACT Revenue Office website providing comprehensive information on ACT taxes;
• acquired the administration of the Rental Bonds function from Access Canberra;
• produced and published a new Revenue specific information privacy policy; and
• implemented the following initiatives and legislative changes through:
  • continued cuts to conveyance duty under the ACT Government’s Tax Reform program, including the removal of conveyance duty for commercial properties under $1.5 million;
  • amendments to the Land Tax Act 2004 to extend land tax to vacant properties by imposing land tax on non-principal place of residence properties;
  • amendments to the Planning and Development Act 2007 to allow lease holders to defer payment of lease variation charges until their development is complete;
  • minor policy and technical amendments to the Duties Act 1999, the First Home Owner Grant Regulation 2015, the Payroll Tax Act 2011, the Rates Act 2004 and the Taxation Administration Act 1999 to improve the operation and administration of the ACT’s tax laws.

Of the four 2017-18 accountability indicators against this output three were achieved:

• Debt Management – Level of Outstanding Debt - the average level of collectable debt to revenue ratio for 2017-18 was 3.9% compared to the target of 2.5%. The variance of this accountability indicator from the target reflects that general rates, with a higher debt to revenue ratio than other tax lines, is now a higher proportion of the overall tax base as a consequence of tax reform. From next year this accountability indicator will be presented in terms of general rates and other taxes.
• Compliance Revenue per Inspector - compliance revenue per inspector was $1,185,028 compared to the target of $650,000. The Compliance team re-engineered its Land Tax investigations through the enhancement of business intelligence. Payroll Tax and Duty investigations also saw positive results.
• Internal Reviews of Objections Completed - all objections determined in 2017-18 were completed within 12 months with 99% being completed within 6 months.

Future Direction

In 2018-19 the directorate will:

• introduce legislation and administrative systems and processes for a Point of Consumption Gambling Tax which will commence from 1 January 2019;
• deploy a Rental Bonds Portal to provide capability for rental bonds transactions to be lodged and released through an online self-service portal for property investors and their agents; and
• continue to roll out portal access to allow taxpayers of return based taxes to register and lodge returns on line.

Further information can be obtained from

Stephen Miners
Deputy Under Treasurer
Economic, Budget and Industrial Relations
+61 2 6207 5071
Stephen.Miners@act.gov.au

Kim Salisbury
Executive Director
Revenue Management
+61 2 6207 0010
Kim.Salisbury@act.gov.au