Senate

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Treasurer, the Hon Peter Costello, MP)

Chapter 16 - Technical amendments

Overview

16.1 Schedule 16 of the Bill makes a number of technical amendments to the following Acts.

Taxation Laws Amendment Act 1993

16.2 Section 44 of the above Act refers to the definition of 'excluded property' in section 57AF of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 . This reference should have been to 'excluded unit of property'. The proposed amendment will make this technical correction. [Item 1]

Taxation Laws Amendment Act (No. 3) 1994

16.3 A table in Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the above Act sets out some of the consequential amendments to be made to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 as a result of the introduction of the Reportable Payments System in 1994. In that table reference to the amendment to subsection 222AFA(4) (adding 1AA after Divisions in that section) should have been contained in a separate item. The proposed amendments will rectify this. [Items 2 and 3]

Taxation Laws Amendment Act (No. 4) 1995

16.4 The heading to item 1 of Schedule 2 of the above Act should have referred to paragraph 46M(3)(b) rather than paragraph 46L(3)(b). [Item 4]

16.5 Items 134 and 136 of Schedule 2 of the above Act omitted the word 'rebate' where second occurring. The proposed amendments will correct these technical errors. [Items 5 and 6]

Taxation Laws Amendment Act (No. 3) 1996

16.6 Item 74 of Schedule 4 of the above Act added 'and' to the end of paragraphs 46(2)(a), (b) and (c) of the Industry, Research and Development Act 1985 . However 'and' already appears at the end of paragraph 46(2)(c). The proposed amendment removes the reference to paragraph 46(2)(c) from item 74. [Item 7]

Taxation Laws Amendment Act (No. 2) 1997

16.7 Item 8 makes a technical amendment to the provisions dealing with the transfer of capital losses. An explanation is provided at paragraph 14.72 in Chapter 14.

Taxation Laws Amendment (Private Health Insurance Incentives) Act 1997

16.8 An increase of the medical expenses rebate threshold was announced in the 1996-97 Budget. The Government introduced amendments to the above Act to provide for the threshold increase to complement the incentives under the Act. The Parliament subsequently passed the threshold increase at half the proposed level ($1250 instead of $1500).

16.9 There was a drafting error in the amendment that inserted the medical expenses rebate amendments into the Act. The amendments became Schedule 3. The Schedule clause at the front of the Act states that '...each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended...as set out... in the Schedule concerned...'. The error is that Schedule 3 does not specify an Act and therefore the amendment is technically deficient.

16.10 Item 9 inserts the title of the Act (the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 ) to be amended by Schedule 3.