Pay-roll Tax Assessment Act 2002

Pay‑roll tax is payable, in accordance with the pay‑roll tax Acts, on wages that are WA taxable wages.

WA taxable wages are wages, other than exempt wages, that are taxable in this jurisdiction.

Wages are taxable in this jurisdiction if —

the wages are paid or payable by an employer for or in relation to services performed by a person wholly in this jurisdiction; or

the wages are paid or payable by an employer for or in relation to services performed by a person in 2 or more Australian jurisdictions, or partly in one or more Australian jurisdictions and partly outside all Australian jurisdictions, and —

the person is based in this jurisdiction; or

the employer is based in this jurisdiction — in a case where the person is not based in an Australian jurisdiction; or

the wages are paid or payable in this jurisdiction — in a case where both the person and the employer are not based in an Australian jurisdiction; or

the wages are paid or payable for services performed mainly in this jurisdiction — in a case where both the person and employer are not based in an Australian jurisdiction and the wages are not paid or payable in an Australian jurisdiction;

the wages are paid or payable by an employer for or in relation to services performed by a person wholly outside all Australian jurisdictions and are paid or payable in this jurisdiction.

Section 41B provides an exemption for wages paid or payable for services performed wholly in one or more other countries for a continuous period of more than 6 months.

The question of whether wages are taxable in this jurisdiction is, subject to this section, to be determined by reference only to the services performed by the person in respect of the employer during the month in which the wages are paid or payable.

For that purpose, any wages paid or payable by an employer in respect of a person in a particular month are taken to be paid or payable for or in relation to the services performed by the person in respect of the employer during that month.

For example, if wages paid in a month are paid to a person for services performed over several months, the question of whether the wages are taxable in this jurisdiction is to be determined by reference only to services performed by the person in the month in which the wages are paid. The services performed in previous months are disregarded for this purpose.

If no services are performed by a person in respect of an employer during a month in which wages are paid or payable to or in relation to the person by the employer —

the question of whether the wages are taxable in this jurisdiction is to be determined by reference only to the services performed by the person in respect of the employer during the most recent prior month in which the person performed services in respect of the employer; and

the wages are taken to be paid or payable for or in relation to the services performed by the person in respect of the employer during that most recent prior month.

If no services are performed by a person in respect of an employer during a month in which wages are paid or payable to or in relation to the person by the employer and no services were performed by the person in respect of the employer during any prior month —

the wages are taken to be paid or payable for or in relation to services performed by the person during the month in which the wages are paid or payable; and

the services are taken to have been performed at a place or places where it may be reasonably expected that the services of the person in respect of the employer will be performed.

All amounts of wages paid or payable in the same month by the same employer in respect of the same person are to be aggregated for the purposes of determining whether they are taxable in this jurisdiction.

For example, if one amount of wages is paid by an employer in a particular month for services performed in this jurisdiction, and another amount of wages is paid by the same employer in the same month for services performed by the same person in another Australian jurisdiction, the wages paid are to be aggregated as if they were paid for all the services performed by the person in that month.

If wages are paid in a different month from the month in which they are payable, the question of whether the wages are taxable in this jurisdiction is to be determined by reference to the earlier of the relevant months.

If an amount that is paid or payable to a company is, under section 9GA or 21, taken to be wages paid or payable to another person, subsection (1)(b) has effect as if references to the jurisdiction in which the person who performs the services is based were references to the jurisdiction in which the company is based and, for that purpose, the jurisdiction in which the company is based is to be worked out under section 6C as if the company were an employer.

The jurisdiction in which a person who performs services is based is the jurisdiction in which the person’s principal place of residence is located.

The jurisdiction in which the person is based is to be determined by reference to the state of affairs existing during the month in which the relevant wages are paid or payable.

If more than one jurisdiction would qualify as the jurisdiction in which the person is based during a month, the jurisdiction in which the person is based is to be determined by reference to the state of affairs existing on the last day of that month.

If the person does not have a principal place of residence, the person is taken to be a person who is not based in an Australian jurisdiction.

The jurisdiction in which an employer is based is —

the jurisdiction in which the employer’s registered business address is located — if the employer has an ABN; or

the jurisdiction in which the employer’s principal place of business is located — in any other case.

If wages are paid or payable in connection with a business carried on by an employer under a trust, the employer’s registered business address is the registered business address of the trust or, if the trust does not have an ABN, the registered business address of the trustee of the trust.

If an employer has registered business addresses located in different jurisdictions at the same point in time, the jurisdiction in which the employer is based at that point in time is the jurisdiction in which the employer’s principal place of business is located.

The jurisdiction in which an employer is based is to be determined by reference to the state of affairs existing during the month in which the relevant wages are paid or payable.

If more than one jurisdiction would qualify as the jurisdiction in which an employer is based during a month, the jurisdiction in which the employer is based is to be determined by reference to the state of affairs existing on the last day of that month.

An employer who has neither a registered business address nor a principal place of business is taken to be an employer who is not based in an Australian jurisdiction.

In this section —

Wages are taken to have been paid at a place if, for the purpose of the payment of those wages —

an instrument is sent or given or an amount is transferred by an employer to a person or a person’s agent at that place; or

an instruction is given by an employer for the crediting of an amount to the account of a person or a person’s agent at that place.

The wages are taken to have been paid on the date that the instrument was sent or given, the amount was transferred or the account credited in accordance with the instruction (whichever is relevant).

Subject to this section, wages are taken to be payable at the place at which they are paid.

Wages that are not paid by the end of the month in which they are payable are taken to be payable at —

the place where wages were last paid by the employer for or in relation to services performed by the person; or

if wages have not previously been paid by the employer for or in relation to services performed by the person — the place where the person last performed services in respect of the employer before the wages became payable.

If wages paid or payable in the same month by the same employer in respect of the same person are paid or payable in more than one Australian jurisdiction, the wages paid or payable in that month are taken to be paid or payable in the Australian jurisdiction in which the highest proportion of the wages are paid or payable.

An employer who pays or is liable to pay WA taxable wages is liable to pay any pay‑roll tax payable on the wages.

Pay‑roll tax payable on wages by a member or members of a group is a debt due jointly and severally by each person who is a member of the group during the period in which the wages become payable.

A liability arising under subsection (2) does not affect the liability of an employer under subsection (1).

A person who is liable to pay pay‑roll tax is also liable to pay any penalties, interest or other amounts payable under a pay‑roll tax Act in connection with the pay‑roll tax.