Duties Act 2001—A brief history

The following is an abridged version of an article from the April 2002 edition of the Queensland Government magazine Sectorwide.

Simpler tax laws for Queensland

After 108 years, Queensland has simpler tax laws. On March 1 the Duties Act 2001 and the Taxation Administration Act 2001 (TAA) superseded Queensland’s oldest tax legislation, the Stamp Act 1894.

The TAA will modernise our taxation administration framework, cutting red tape and compliance costs for Queensland businesses and simplifying administration for Government. The provisions of the TAA will be progressively applied to pay-roll tax and land tax legislation to improve the consistency and operation of administrative arrangements. Stamp duty is one of the cornerstones of our taxation system and represents around one third of all tax revenue collected. Enacted by the State Government in 1866 to help finance the colony's railway system, the legislation has long been recognised as outdated and inefficient. The office took this opportunity to introduce a new way of communicating and doing business with clients.

Staff are committed to providing user-friendly, proactive information services to assist clients in meeting their obligations. The office’s publications were revised and information sheets, Frequently Asked Questions, Revenue Rulings and Practice Directions rewritten in plain English with minimum legalese. 

The revised web site is now a virtual customer service officer, providing answers to the majority of client queries. The new Client Contact Centre (CCC) helps staff deal with queries about the new legislation. CCC officers provide quality, personalised, consistent and timely information services regarding taxation and grant and subsidy legislation.

'Stamp duty is one of the cornerstones of our taxation system and represents around one third of all tax revenue collected'

The CCC commenced operations on 4 February and handled around 1700 clients queries in the first week, exceeding their service level agreement and resolving 94 per cent of queries at first point of contact. Centre staff are trained to handle the more routine and straightforward questions. An escalation process was developed to deal with interpretational and more complex administrative or process issues that cannot be resolved by the CCC.

The hard work invested in the rewrite of the Stamp Act was recognised by Queensland Treasury with the Duties Act and TAA teams receiving special awards.

(Article courtesy of Sectorwide)

The following are extracts from the Second Reading speech by the Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Sport, Terence M Mackenroth, who introduced the Duties Bill into the Legislative Assembly on 17 October 2001.

Second Reading speech

'The Duties Bill is a rewrite of the Stamp Act 1894.

Stamp duty is the oldest of Queensland’s taxes. It is the cornerstone of Queensland’s taxation system and represents around one third of all taxation revenue collected.

'The rewrite of the Stamp Act has been sought by business for many years'

The legislation has not been easy to reform. Partly, this is because the Stamp Act contains not one but several taxes, partly because the legislation has been layered by a succession of amendments, some designed for anti-avoidance, others to introduce amendments to its operation.

The rewrite of the Stamp Act has been sought by business for many years.

The adoption of a transactions basis for transfer duty is fundamental to meeting the principles for the rewrite and is necessary for harmonisation with the model adopted in other jurisdictions’ rewritten duty legislation.

There has been a significant public consultation process undertaken for the Duties Bill 2001.  As part of the consultation process, a series of seven public seminars was held in mid-November in Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast and Toowoomba.

The Government is already receiving requests for commencement of the Duties Bill. No doubt this is due to businesses and individuals wishing to take advantage of the improvements in the legislation.

In order to facilitate the smooth introduction of the Bill, the Office of State Revenue will conduct client education seminars and will put in place a process for assisting in the interpretation of the Bill through the well established system of revenue rulings and practice directions.

'The Government is already receiving requests for commencement of the Duties Bill'

Mr Speaker, although the Duties Bill is intended to be revenue neutral it will, on its commencement, result in a revenue reduction estimated to cost $14.5 million. Some $13 million of this will result from the simplification of mortgage duty.'