TAXATION RULING NO. ST 2243

ST 2243

SALES TAX : KEYBOARD WRISTREST

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FOI status:

May be releasedFOI number: I 1137221

PREAMBLE

Sub-item 113G(1) in the First Schedule to the Sales Tax (Exemptions and Classifications) Act exempts from sales tax equipment of a kind used exclusively, or primarily and principally, in the course of industrial operations to protect persons engaged in those operations, including masks, respirators, shields, goggles, vizors, helmets, belts and machine guards.

2. Sub-item 123(1) in the First Schedule exempts goods designed and manufactured expressly for use by persons suffering from sickness, disease or disablement (whether sickness, disease or disablement generally, or a particular kind, or one or more particular kinds, of sickness, disease or disablement), being goods of a kind not ordinarily used by persons who are not suffering from sickness, disease or disablement.

FACTS

3. The Keyboard WristRest is a product designed and manufactured in Australia as an aid in the prevention of keyboard repetition strain injury. It is a plastic moulded product with flat and curved contours. The flat section measures 380mm x 275mm from which the article curves up and around at one end to form an elevated "resting pad". The product has been designed so that the resting pad has an amount of "give" in it, thereby eliminating the need for any form of padding. The flat segment is positioned between the keyboard and desk top and is held in place by 4 rubber grommets fitted to both sides of the flat section to prevent slippage and the weight of the keyboard. The product is placed so that the curved section fits directly in front of the keyboard to form a resting pad. The WristRest is not designed to be used while keying but to provide comfort and support for the wrists during pauses between periods of keying.

RULING

4. Sub-item 113G(1) is expressed to apply to equipment of a kind used exclusively or primarily and principally in industrial operations. Available information indicates that would-be users of the Keyboard WristRest would come from an office rather than industrial environment. Exemption under sub-item 113G(1) is not available for the product.

5. The Keyboard WristRest is not exempt from sales tax under sub-item 123(1). It is for the use of able bodied persons and is in the nature of an aid for typists. It is not expressly for use by persons suffering from sickness, disease or disablement.

6. The Keyboard WristRest is taxable at the general rate of 20%.

COMMISSIONER OF TAXATION
21 May 1986

References

ATO references:
NO 86/843-4

Date of effect:
Immediate

Subject References:
KEYBOARD WRISTREST

Legislative References:
SALES TAX (EXEMPTIONS AND CLASSIFICATIONS) ACT; ITEMS 113G
and 123, FIRST SCHEDULE