House of Representatives

A New Tax System (Tax Administration) Bill (No. 2) 1999

Second Reading Speech

Hockey, Joe, MP (North Sydney, Financial Services and Regulation, LP, Government)

I move:

That the bill be now read a second time.

This bill contains a number of measures relating to the government's reform of tax administration and, in particular, the rules for the collection and payment of tax and other liabilities under the pay-as-you-go system. The bill will complete the PAYG arrangements for certain trustees by specifying how their PAYG instalments are to be calculated. It will also ensure that PAYG instalments paid by life assurance companies and other organisations with superannuation business are calculated on the same basis as the instalments paid by superannuation funds.

The bill will provide for loan repayments under the Student Financial Supplement Scheme and Abstudy to be collected under PAYG. This will align the collection arrange ments for those loan repayments with the arrangements for the Higher Education Contribution Scheme, or HECS. A number of minor technical and consequential amendments will also be made by this bill to facilitate the introduction of the new PAYG system. Full details of the measures in this bill are contained in the explanatory memorandum which is circulated to all honourable members.

I commend the bill to the house. I present the explanatory memorandum.