AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

Rates and Land Tax (Amendment) Act 1997
No. 33 of 1997
	
An Act to amend the Rates and Land Tax Act 1926
[Notified in ACT Gazette S180: 30 June 1997]
	The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory enacts as follows:
Short title
1.  This Act may be cited as the Rates and Land Tax (Amendment) Act 1997.
Commencement
2.  (1)  Sections 1, 2 and 3 commence on the day on which this Act is notified in the Gazette.
(2)  The remaining provisions commence, or shall be taken to have commenced, on 1 July 1997.
Principal Act
3.  In this Act, “Principal Act” means the Rates and Land Tax Act 1926.1
Interpretation
4.  Section 4 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting in subsection (1) the following definition:
“ ‘average unimproved value’, in relation to a parcel of land for a particular year, means—
	(a)	where the parcel has not been rateable previously—the unimproved value of the parcel;
	(b)	where the parcel has been rateable for less than 3 years—the average unimproved value of the parcel over those years; or
	(c)	in any other case—the average unimproved value of the parcel over the 3 years immediately preceding the particular year;
disregarding any fraction of a dollar;”.
Insertion
5.  After section 8 of the Principal Act the following section is inserted:
Determinations for 1995 and 1996
“9.  (1)  The Commissioner shall, as soon as practicable after the commencement of this section, determine the unimproved value as at 1 January 1995 and 1 January 1996 of all parcels of land in the Territory that were rateable on the relevant date.
“(2)  Nothing in subsection (1) affects the imposition of rates in a year commencing before the commencement of this section.”.
Unimproved values—1995 and 1996
6.  Section 11A of the Principal Act is amended by inserting in subsection (1) “(other than the definition of ‘average unimproved value’ and section 9)” after “purposes of this Act”.
Substitution
7.  Section 13 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section substituted:
Imposition
“13.  (1)  This section is subject to the operation of section 24A.
“(2)  Rates of $220 are imposed in respect of each parcel of rateable land in the City Area that has an average unimproved value of $19,000 or less.
“(3)  Rates are imposed in respect of each parcel of rateable land in the City Area that has an average unimproved value greater than $19,000 in accordance with the following formula:
$220 + ((AUV — $19,000) X P)
where—
	AUV	is the average unimproved value of the parcel of land;
	P	is—
(a)	in relation to a parcel of land—
	(i)	leased for residential purposes; or
	(ii)	leased for residential and other purposes but used solely for residential purposes; 
	1.0734%; or
 (b)	in any other case—1.1110%.
 “(4)  Rates are imposed in respect of each parcel of rateable land outside the City Area that has an average unimproved value greater than $19,000 in accordance with the following formula:
(AUV — $19,000) X P
where—
	AUV	is the average unimproved value of the parcel of land; 
	P	is 0.5367%.”.
Imposition
8.  Section 22A of the Principal Act is amended—
	(a)	by inserting in paragraph (2) (a) “average” after “portion of the”; and
	(b)	by omitting from the heading to the table in paragraph (2) (a) “Unimproved” and substituting “Average unimproved”.
Unit subdivisions
9.  Section 24A of the Principal Act is amended—
	(a)	by omitting from paragraph (3) (a) all the words after “being an amount” and substituting “determined in accordance with subsection (3A)”;
	(b)	by inserting after subsection (3) the following subsection:
“(3A)  Subsections 13 (2), (3) and (4) apply to impose rates on a unit that is part of a parcel of land subdivided into units and common property as if—
	(a)	a reference to a parcel of land were a reference to such a unit; and
	(b)	a reference to the average unimproved value in relation to that unit were a reference to the value determined in accordance with the following formula:
	
		where—
	UE	is the unit entitlement of the particular unit;
	TUE	is the unit entitlement of all the units in the units plan;
	AUV	is the average unimproved value of the parcel of land.”;
		and
	(c)	by omitting from paragraph (4) (a) “, 13”.

NOTE
Principal Act
1.	Reprinted as at 30 November 1996.
[Presentation speech made in Assembly on 17 June 1997]

©  Australian Capital Territory 1997