2007 announcements

In January 2007, the Queensland Office of State Revenue (OSR) commenced a compliance program to be conducted over 3-6 months throughout Queensland. The program is specifically aimed at ensuring the full benefit of the Queensland fuel subsidy of 8.354 cents per litre is being passed on by fuel retailers to motorists. It is likely that fuel retailers will be contacted by OSR investigators as part of this program. Should you require further information about the compliance program, please contact the OSR fuel subsidy investigations team on (07) 3227 6282 between 8-00am and 5-00pm week days.

OSR's E-lodgement system will not be available this Friday 26 January 2007 for 7 hours from 7:00 am to 2:00pm, to allow maintenance and upgrades to take place.

We apologise for the inconvenience - please try again later

The new versions of the Practice Directions and Revenue Rulings are released to reflect the following amendments made to the Duties Act 2001,by the Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2006, that commenced on 1 January 2007. The amendments included:

• abolition of hire duty;
• abolition of transfer duty on Queensland marketable securities;
• provision of a new first home transfer duty concession for certain acquisitions of vacant land;
• extension of the current first home transfer duty concession for acquisitions of established homes; and
• modification of the home and first home mortgage duty provisions to maintain consistency with changes to the home and first home transfer duty concessions.
  

Abolition of Hire Duty

DA 13.2 Hire duty on the hire of goods subject to GST
DA 33.3 Hire duty - relevant factors in determining whether a person is carrying on a hiring business
DA 46.3 Hire duty - commercial hirers - alternate basis for working out hiring charges under hire purchase agreements
DA 56.4 Calculation of hire duty by commercial hirers

Abolition of Transfer Duty on Queensland Marketable Securities

DA 14.2 Guidelines for administering section 148(1)(c) of the Duties Act 2001
DA 15.2 Concession for dutiable transactions for particular family businesses - descendent who is a minor
DA 38.4 Securitisation transactions
DA 39.3 Concessional ($5) duty on a transfer of mortgage
DA 41.4 Transfers of secured and unsecured debts
DA 57.3 Duty implications of dealings with water entitlements issued under the Water Act 2000
DA 75.1 Abolition of transfer duty on Queensland marketable securities

DA 75.1 is a new Practice Direction that explains the impact of the abolition of transfer duty on transactions concerning Queensland marketable securities.

Home or First Home Concession

DA 1.2 Concession for homes and first homes - residential purposes
DA 2.2 Concession for homes and first homes - occupancy requirements
DA 3.2 Inclusion of chattels in the acquisition of a home or first home
DA 21.2 Concession for mortgage duty on home mortgages
DA 23.2 Reassessment of transfer duty due to withdrawal of a concession for a home, first home or land on which a first home is to be constructed
TA 4.3 Penalty tax - home concessions
DA 50.3 Mortgage duty - house and land packages

OSR's E-lodgement system will not be available this weekend on Saturday 20 January 2007 for 4 hours from 2:00 pm and 6:00pm, and again on Sunday 21 January 2007 for 5 hours from 7:00am and 12:00pm to allow scheduled maintenance to take place.

We apologise for the inconvenience - please try again later.

In 2007, the Office of State Revenue (OSR) will launch Duties Online enabling duties self assessors to lodge returns and make payments electronically. Duties Online will be launched as part of the OSR’s Release 2 Revenue Management System (RMS), a modernised, web-enhanced, integrated computer system which will replace existing systems. more...

The transfer duty calculator has now been updated to include the recent amendments to the Duties Act 2001 relating to the first home concession which took effect from 1 January 2007.

A new first home vacant land calculator is also now available for transactions entered into after 1 January 2007.

It is recommended that those clients who use the downloaded calculators to now download the updated versions.

Access the online version of the calculators here.

Due to scheduled maintenance, OSR's e-lodgement service will not be available between Saturday 24 February 6:00am and Sunday 25 February 6:00pm.

We apologise for the inconvenience - please try again later.

Due to scheduled maintenance, OSR's e-lodgement service will not be available Sunday 18 February 2007 between 10:00am and 12:00pm.

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Due to further maintenance and upgrades, OSR's e-lodgement service will not be available between Saturday 3 February 10:00am and Sunday 4 February 5:00pm.

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OSR's internet services, including the e-lodgement service, will not be available Saturday 31 March 2007 for 12 hours between 8:00am and 8:00pm.

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Due to scheduled maintenance, OSR's e-lodgement service will not be available Sunday 18 March 2007 for 6 hours between 6:00am and 12:00pm.

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Due to scheduled maintenance, OSR's e-lodgement service will not be available Sunday 15 April 2007 for 6 hours between 9:00am and 3:00pm.

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Premier Peter Beattie and Treasurer Anna Bligh announced today that a new environmentally friendly rating system for motor vehicle transfer duty would be included in next week’s State Budget.

Read the media statement on the Queensland Government Ministerial Directory

The Revenue Legislation Amendment Regulation (No.1) 2008 was made on 15 May 2008 and gazetted on 16 May 2008.  The Regulation increases the Community Ambulance Cover levy and various fees payable to the Office of State Revenue from 1 July 2008 in line with the forward movement in the Brisbane All-Groups Consumer Price Index.

Due to system maintenance, OSR's e-lodgement service will not be available Saturday May 12 2007 for 4 hours between 8:00am and 12:00pm.

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Due to system maintenance, OSR's e-lodgement service will not be available Sunday May 6 2007 for 5 hours between 7:00am and 12:00pm.

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The Revenue Legislation Amendment Regulation (No.1) 2007 was made on 7 June 2007 and gazetted on 8 June 2007. The Regulation increases various fees and charges payable to the Office of State Revenue in line with the Brisbane All-Groups Consumer Price Index. The fees increase from 1 July 2007.

More information on the Revenue Legislation Amendment Regulation (No.1) 2007 can be found here.

On Tuesday, 5 June 2007, the Honourable Anna Bligh MP, Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Infrastructure announced the following revenue measures in the 2007-08 Queensland State Budget. More ...

The following Practice Direction relating to the Duties Act 2001 (the Duties Act):

Practice Direction DA 77.1 - Transfer duty concession for acquisitions of vacant land on which first home to be constructed - calculation of duty under s.93A

Chapter 2 Part 9 of the Duties Act provides a concession for transfer duty on a transfer or agreement for the transfer of vacant land on which a person’s first home is to be constructed.

Section 93A of the Duties Act provides for the calculation of the vacant land concession involving partial claims, that is, where -

• there are multiple transferees and the residence, when built, will be the first home of only some of them;or
• there is only one transferee who acquires a part interest in the land and the residence, when built, will be the transferee’s first home.

In the case of partial claims, it was intended to provide a concession proportionate to the interest of the transferee(s) who satisfy the 'first home' eligibility criteria. However, it has been identified that the calculation of a partial claim under s.93A of the Duties Act does not produce a proportionate concession as intended.

This Practice Direction sets out the calculation to be applied in calculating partial claims of the vacant land concession under s.93A of the Duties Act.

The following Practice Direction has been placed on the OSR website:

Practice Direction Duties Act 76.1- Transfer duty - Administrative arrangement - relief for dutiable transactions in settlement of native title claims

An administrative arrangement was approved under which ex gratia relief would be provided from transfer duty on certain dutiable transactions relating to the settlement of native title claims.

PDDA 76.1 sets out the conditions under which the administrative arrangement will operate.

Due to system maintenance, OSR's e-lodgement service will not be available Sunday July 29 2007 for 3 hours between 9:00am and 12:00pm.

We apologise for the inconvenience - please try again later.

The following Practice Directions have been placed on the OSR website:

Practice Direction Land Tax 1.2 - Guidelines for determining the business of agriculture, pasturage or dairy farming

PD LT 1.2 replaces PD LT 1.1 to reflect the amendment of the Land Tax Act by the Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2006 to remove the eligibility of absentees who are Australian citizens, for the deduction for land used for the business of agriculture, pasturage or dairy farming.

Practice Direction Duties Act 1.6 - Adjudication Fees

PD DA 1.6 replaces PD DA 1.5 to incorporate the increase in the adjudication fee from 1 July 2007 - s.4 of Revenue Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007.

Practice Direction New Fuel Subsidy Scheme 1.7 - Information for bulk end users requesting a variation to claim period

Practice Direction NFSS 1 replaces Practice Direction NFSS 1.6 to incorporate the increase in the fee, from 1 July 2007, payable for bulk end users for whom a claim period of less than 3 months is allowed by the Commissioner - s.7 of the Revenue Legislation Amendment Regulation (No.1) 2007.

Due to system maintenance, OSR's e-lodgement service will not be available Sunday August 26 2007 for 2 hours between 8:00am and 10:00am.

We apologise for the inconvenience - please try again later.

Deputy Premier and Treasurer today released the Commissioner of State Revenue Summary of Findings by the Fuel Subsidy Task Force into the investigation of fuel retailers’ compliance with their obligations under the Fuel Subsidy Act 1997 to pass on the benefit of the Queensland fuel subsidy to retail consumers of unleaded petrol. View the report on the OSR website. The submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) inquiry into the price of unleaded petrol is available.

Due to system maintenance, OSR's e-lodgement service will not be available Sunday August 19 2007 for 2 hours between 10:00am and 12:00pm.

We apologise for the inconvenience - please try again later.

The following Practice Direction has been placed on the OSR website:

PD General 2.5 - Legal professional privilege - references to legal advice

PD GN 2 outlines the nature of legal professional privilege, provides guidance on how inadvertant waiver of legal professional privilege may occur and explains why officers should not refer to the existence or content of legal advice received by the Commissioner.

PD General 5.4 - Service of documents in legal proceedings on the Commissioner

The revenue laws allows the Commissioner to delegate various functions and powers to other officers, including accepting service of documents in legal proceedings on the Commissioner's behalf. PD GN 5 explains which officers are authorised or allowed to accept service on the Commissioner's behalf and the manner in which service is to be accepted.

PD General 6.5 - Subpoenas, warrants and notices to produce directed to the Commissioner

PD GN 6 clarifies the Commissioner's obligations under the revenue laws in relation to subpoenas, warrants and other legal process and notices served on the Commissioner seeking access to information gained in the course of administering those laws.

Due to system maintenance, OSR's e-lodgement service will not be available Sunday August 5 2007 for 2 hours between 4:00pm and 6:00pm.

We apologise for the inconvenience - please try again later.

Practice Direction DA 78.1 - Securities "quoted on the market operated by a recognised stock exchange" - stapled securities

PDDA 78.1 clarifies the application of the Duties Act 2001 to transactions concerning stapled securities

Practice Direction DA 79.1 - Securities "quoted on the market operated by a recognised stock exchange" - securities suspended from quotation

PDDA 79.1 clarifies the application of the Duties Act 2001 to transactions concerning securities that are temporarily suspended from quotation on the market operated by a recognised stock exchange.

Practice Direction DA 80.1 - Transfer duty - administrative arrangement - extension of the definition of  'qualified holder' of units in a pooled investment unit trust.

On 10 September 2007, an administrative arrangement was approved  under which the Commissioner would be given the ability to approve certain persons as a “qualified holder” for the purposes of the Duties Act  2001 (“the Act”) – namely :

1. a person that the Commissioner is satisfied holds units in a unit trust in a capacity that corresponds to one of the capacities referred to in s. 76(1) of the Act, other than the capacity of trustee of a declared public unit trust, under the law of an external territory or a foreign country; or
2. a class of persons that the Commissioner is satisfied corresponds to one of the capacities referred to in s. 76(1) of the Act, other than the capacity of trustee of a declared public unit trust, under the law of an external territory or a foreign country.

The Practice Direction sets out the conditions under which the administrative arrangement will operate.

On 30 July 2007, the Honourable Anna Bligh MP, Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Infrastructure, announced that home concessional duty is now allowable in circumstances where a unit in a retirement village under a retirement village scheme registered under the Retirement Villages Act 1999 is occupied under a lease and sub-lease occupancy arrangement between the resident and the retirement village operator. Read more...

The Office of State Revenue is promoting Duties Online as part of the scheduled Queensland Law Society (QLS) Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Program which will be held at regional locations.

View the seminar calendar on the OSR website.

Visits to registered self assessors are also being planned. If you would like to organise a visit or speak to someone about Duties Online, email us at client.support@osr.treasury.qld.gov.au

If you are interested in keeping up to date about Duties Online, please register for our email alert service.

Practice Direction DA 81.1 - Administrative arrangement - extension of duty home concessions to certain acquisitions and mortgages of freehold units in retirement villages

On 30 July 2007, the Honourable Anna Bligh MP, then Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Infrastructure, announced that the Duties Act 2001 (“the Duties Act”) will be amended to ensure that the entitlement to the transfer duty and mortgage duty home concessions will not be lost for residents who acquire freehold title to a unit in a registered retirement village and are required to entered into lease and sub-lease arrangement with the retirement village operator, subject to certain conditions. Pending the amendment of the Duties Act, an administrative arrangement was approved which enable the home concession to apply in such circumstances provided all the conditions are satisfied.

Practice Direction DA 82.1 - Vehicle registration duty - administrative arrangment - extension of exemption in s.390(1)(l) of the Duties Act 2001

On 29 August 2007 an administrative arrangement was approved under which s.390(1)(l) of the Duties Act 2001 will be administered on the basis that it also provides an exemption from vehicle registration duty for an application to register a vehicle in the name of, or an application to transfer a vehicle to, a person who has lost the use of 1 or both legs if:

1. the vehicle is for use for transport to and from the person’s place of education because the person can not use public transport; and
2. the education is for the purpose of obtaining employment.

The Practice Direction outlines the administrative arrangement.

New forms have been approved for use under the Duties Act 2001 and Tax Administration Act 2001 (TAA).  The new approved forms replace most of the existing Duties approved forms, and the existing TAA approved forms, from 7 January 2008. The new approved forms for insurance returns and mortgage returns take effect from 4 February 2008.

The existing approved forms will continue to be accepted for a transitional period after the effective date of the corresponding new form.

Draft Revenue Ruling DA 20.2D is released for public comment. Revenue Ruling DA 20.1 is being amended to incorporate changes required as a consequence of the Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2007 and the implementation of Release 2 of Revenue Management System.

Members of the public are invited to comment on this Draft Revenue Ruling. Comments must be in writing and should be received no later than close of business 18 January 2008.

Written submissions are to be forwarded to:

 Matt Houston
 Manager - Administrative Policy Branch
 Office of State Revenue
 GPO Box 2593
 BRISBANE QLD 4001

The Honourable Andrew Fraser MP, Treasurer, today announced measures to harmonise key aspects of Queensland’s pay-roll tax system with those of New South Wales and Victoria effective from 1 July 2008, bringing reductions in red tape and compliance costs for Queensland businesses.

Read more...

Payroll Tax e-lodgement will not be available from 5:00pm Friday 14 December 2007 to 9:00am Monday 17 December 2007 inclusive due to system maintenance activities.

The Queensland Land Registry Form 3 - Release of Mortgage is no longer required to be stamped and is permitted to be lodged in the Land Registry without being stamped or endorsed in any way.

For further information, see Information Sheet - The Duties Act - Mortgages.