Payroll Tax Act 1971

This Act may be cited as the Payroll Tax Act 1971.

The dictionary in the schedule defines particular words used in this Act.

A superannuation contribution is a monetary or non-monetary contribution paid or payable by an employer for an employee, or by a company for a director of the company—

as a superannuation guarantee charge under the Superannuation Guarantee Act; or

to a superannuation fund under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cwlth); or

to another form of superannuation, provident or retirement fund or scheme, including, for example, the following—

a retirement savings account under the Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997 (Cwlth);

a wholly or partly unfunded fund or scheme.

Examples of non-monetary contribution—

1 marketable securities

2 real property

In this section—

Superannuation Guarantee Act means the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (Cwlth).

superannuation guarantee charge does not include the following—

an additional superannuation guarantee charge under section 49 or part 7 of the Superannuation Guarantee Act;

the part of a superannuation guarantee charge equal to a superannuation contribution mentioned in subsection (1)(b) or (c) that is payable, and for which payroll tax has been paid to the commissioner, to the extent the contribution would have resulted in a reduction in the charge percentage under section 23 of the Superannuation Guarantee Act if the contribution had been paid.

unfunded, for a superannuation, provident or retirement fund or scheme, means the extent that an amount paid or payable by an employer for an employee, or by a company for a director of the company, covered by the fund or scheme is not paid or payable while the employee is employed by the employer, or the director is appointed as a director of the company.

A termination payment is—

any of the following payments made because of the retirement from, or termination of, any office or employment of an employee—

an unused annual leave payment under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cwlth), section 83-10;

an unused long service leave payment under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cwlth), section 83-75;

so much of an employment termination payment paid or payable by an employer, whether paid or payable to the employee or to another entity, that would be included in the assessable income of the employee under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cwlth), chapter 2, part 2-40 if the whole employment termination payment had been paid to the employee; or

a following amount, if the amount would be an employment termination payment had it been paid or payable because of termination of employment—

an amount paid or payable by a company because of the termination of the services or office of a director of the company, whether paid or payable to the director or another entity;

an amount paid or payable by a relevant contract employer because of the termination of the supply of the services of an employee under a relevant contract, whether paid or payable to the employee or another entity.

In this section—

employment termination payment means—

an employment termination payment under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cwlth), section 82-130; or

a payment that is not an employment termination payment under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cwlth), section 82-130 only because it is received later than 12 months after the termination of a person’s employment; or

a transitional termination payment under the Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 (Cwlth), section 82-10.

This section applies for the definition of wages in the schedule.

Note—

Part 2, divisions 1A to 1D contain other provisions that apply for the definition wages.

For paragraph (g) of the definition, a superannuation contribution paid or payable by an employer for an employee on or after 1 January 2000 is taken to be for the employee’s services performed or rendered on or after 1 January 2000.

However, if the commissioner is satisfied any part of a superannuation contribution mentioned in subsection (2) is for an employee’s services performed or rendered before 1 January 2000, the part is not wages.

Also, for paragraph (g) of the definition—

a superannuation contribution paid or payable by an employer to a superannuation, provident or retirement fund or scheme and not attributed by the employer as paid or payable for a particular employee or particular employees is taken to be paid or payable for the employee or employees decided by the commissioner; and

a superannuation contribution paid on or after 14 September 1999 and before 1 January 2000 for an employee’s services to be performed or rendered on or after 1 January 2000 is taken to be paid on 1 January 2000.

For this Act, the amount or value of wages paid or payable to a person must be reduced by the relevant proportion of the amount of any GST paid or payable by the person on the supply to which the wages relate.

In this section—

relevant proportion, for GST paid or payable on a supply to which wages relate, means the proportion that the amount or value of the wages bears to the consideration for the supply to which the wages relate.

[repealed]

A change of status happens for a person who is an employer if, during a financial year—

the person ceases to be an employer and does not intend to resume being an employer during the remainder of the year or the next financial year; orExample for paragraph (a)—

There is no change of status for a fruit grower who ceases to pay wages after the fruit picking season but intends to resume paying wages later in the financial year or in the next financial year.

for a person who pays, or is liable to pay, taxable wages and who is not a group member—the person becomes a group member; or

for a person who pays, or is liable to pay, wages and is a non-DGE group member—

the person starts paying, or becomes liable to pay, taxable wages other than as a group member; or

the person becomes the DGE for a group; or

the person ceases to be the DGE for a group; or

an administrator is appointed for the property of the person; or

the appointment of an administrator for the person’s property ceases to have effect.

A change of status happens—

if subsection (1)(a) applies—on the first day the person—

does not pay, and is not liable to pay, wages; and

does not intend to resume paying wages for the remainder of the year or the next financial year; or

if subsection (1)(b) applies—on the first day the person is a group member; or

if subsection (1)(c)(i) applies—on the first day the person pays, or is liable to pay, taxable wages other than as a group member; or

if subsection (1)(c)(ii) applies—on the first day of the periodic return period in which the person becomes the DGE for the group; orNote—

See also section 75(1) and (2).

if subsection (1)(d) applies—

if all the group members cease to pay, or be liable to pay, wages as members of the group during the relevant periodic return period on or before the day the person ceases to be the DGE for the group—on the first day the person is not the DGE for the group; or

otherwise—on the first day of the relevant periodic return period; orNote—

See also section 75(3).

if subsection (1)(e) applies—on the day the administrator is appointed; or

if subsection (1)(f) applies—on the day after the appointment ceases to have effect.

For subsection (2)(e), the relevant periodic return period is the periodic return period in which the person ceases to be the DGE for the group.

Notes—

1 If an employer who is not a group member changes status, the employer is required to lodge a final return for, and pay, payroll tax and the mental health levy for the final period.

2 If an employer who is the DGE for a group changes status, the DGE is required to lodge a final return for, and pay, payroll tax and the mental health levy for the final period.

3 If an employer who is a non-DGE group member changes status—

the employer is required to lodge a final return for, and pay, payroll tax for the final period; and

the DGE for the group is required to lodge a final return for, and pay, the mental health levy for the final period.

The final period, for a change of status of a person (the relevant change of status) happening during a financial year, means the period—

starting on the latest of the following days in the year—

1 July;

the first day on which the person is required to register as an employer under part 3, division 1;

if an earlier change of status has happened for the person during the year—the day of the change of status happening immediately before the relevant change of status; and

ending on the day before the relevant change of status happens.

Example—

An employer who is a group member from 1 July in a financial year ceases to be a group member on 1 September. The final period for the change of status is 1 July to 31 August.

If the employer then ceases to pay, or be liable to pay, wages from 1 June, the final period for the second change of status is 1 September to 31 May.

Despite section 59(1A), a reference in this Act, other than section 59(1), to a periodic return period or return period in relation to an employer is taken to include the last periodic return period of a financial year for the employer.

A note in the text of this Act is part of the Act.

This Act does not contain all the provisions about payroll tax or the mental health levy.

The Administration Act contains provisions dealing with, among other things, each of the following—

assessments of tax;

payments and refunds of tax;

imposition of interest and penalty tax;

objections and appeals against, or reviews of, assessments of tax;

record keeping obligations of taxpayers;

investigative powers, offences, legal proceedings and evidentiary matters;

service of documents;

registration of charitable institutions.

Note—

Under the Administration Act, section 3, that Act and this Act must be read together as if they together formed a single Act.

This subdivision applies for working out the wages paid or payable by an employer for services performed or rendered by a person that are liable to payroll tax and the mental health levy under this Act.

If wages are paid or payable for a person other than an employee, a reference to an employee in this subdivision includes a reference to the person.