Is Abbott using the Australian Tax Office as an excuse to extend the range of the Goods & Services Tax?

@AleighMP

Excerpts from the House of Representatives Hansard on 5 December 2013:

Mrs ELLIOT (Richmond) (14:04): My question is to the Prime Minister. Given that the Prime Minister said,

'There will be no change to the GST, full stop, end of story', why is the government now considering applying the GST to relocatable home parks—the complete opposite of what the Prime Minister promised?

Mr ABBOTT (Warringah—Prime Minister) (14:05): Our commitments will be kept; but obviously, in the administration of tax law, various things happen, including draft tax office rulings.

Ms RYAN (Lalor—Opposition Whip) (13:45): I am extremely concerned about the Australian tax office's draft ruling to increase the GST on mobile home parks. I am advised that my electorate of Lalor has approximately 620 mobile or demountable homes, with almost 950 permanent residents who will be adversely affected by this ruling.

Earlier this week, I spoke about tenancy eviction and homelessness in my electorate. This draft ruling is another housing pressure that our community cannot afford.

My office has been inundated by local residents from various retirement villages who are concerned about the burden of having to find between $700 and $1,200 extra per year to pay the GST if it is applied and passed on.

One constituent in particular, Bob from Ison village in Wyndham, is very worried about the impact this draft ruling could have on him and others like him, not only financially but also the undue stress it will cause.

I am aware that residents in three Lalor retirement villages are currently preparing petitions to the House on this matter. Mr Abbott promised during the election campaign that there would be no change to the GST, but now he is in government it feels like another promise is going to be broken.

I stand in the House today to oppose the increase in GST on moveable homes and implore the government to keep its promise and remove the worry this draft ruling is currently causing to the people in my electorate of Lalor.

The Australian Tax Office position:

ATO welcomes feedback on draft ruling

Media Release 22 November 2013

There has been some public misinformation about the Australian Taxation Office’s draft ruling on GST for moveable home estates.

Commissioner Chris Jordan today said the ruling was only draft, that no final decision had yet been made and the public was encouraged to set out any concerns in submissions.

“We have not made a final decision about charging GST on moveable home estates,” Mr Jordan said. “We have issued a draft ruling so the community and stakeholders can comment and raise any concerns.

“There has been a bit of public misunderstanding and I just want to make clear that the draft ruling does not apply to caravan parks and won’t come into play retrospectively.

“Submissions close on 20 December and I encourage people to set out any concerns they have.”

Draft ruling Goods and services tax: supplies made by an operator of a 'moveable home estate' (GSTR 2013/D2) was released for consultation on 30 October 2013.

The preliminary view in the draft ruling is that a moveable home estate does not fall within the definition of commercial residential premises. This is because it is not sufficiently similar to a caravan park.

Consequently, under the draft ruling, operators would no longer be able to apply the concessionary treatment in Division 87 of the GST Act to their supplies of long-term accommodation to residents.

Taxpayers do not need to change current approaches until a final ruling is published.

We are continuing to consult with industry stakeholders on this issue and expect a final ruling to issue in mid 2014.

“I am pleased and encouraged that the community knows they can engage with us on these issues,” said Mr Jordan. “We will consider all feedback.”

Feedback can be submitted before 20 December 2013 on (07) 3213 8417 or via email at steven.iselin@ato.gov.au.

Text of Draft Goods & Services Tax Ruling here.

Federal Nationals Member for Cowper, Luke Hartsuyker, alleges that he had made a submission to the Australian Tax Office asking it to withdraw its draft ruling. His fellow National Party MP for Page, Kevin Hogan, does not appear to have anything to say on the subject to date.

UPDATE

The Australian Taxation Office 20 December 2013:

Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2013/D2 is withdrawn with effect from today.....

The draft Ruling is being withdrawn following consideration of comments received over the course of the consultation period, which contend that moveable home estates are sufficiently similar to caravan parks for the purposes of paragraph (f) of the definition of commercial residential premises in section 195-1 of the GST Act. These comments support the alternative view set out at paragraph 72 of the draft ruling. Similarities to caravan parks include, amongst other things, the leasing of a site separately from a building and shared facilities....

It wasn't only Clarrie Rivers who noticed the haircut!

On 3 December 2013 North Coast Voices’ Clarrie Rivers noticed that the Federal Nationals Member for Cowper’s hair cut was so out there that it was becoming something inviting comment:

He was not the only person who noticed, as this article in The Australian on 10 December 2013 demonstrates:

The Lies Abbott Tells - Part Seven

THE LIE

The Australian 16 December 2013:

TONY Abbott has ramped up the pressure on Indonesia to resume cooperation to stop asylum boats, blaming a lack of assistance from Jakarta for an "uptick" in boat arrivals over the past fortnight.....

THE FACTS

Since the Abbott Government was sworn in on 18 September and up to 14 December 2013, 26 suspected illegal entry vessels have arrived in Australian territorial waters. Either as undiscovered land falls/escorted boats/passengers from unsafe boats taken on board naval or custom vessels.

Indonesia was reported to have ceased surveillance of asylum seeker movements in late November.

The average number of boats arriving in Australia between 18 September and 30 November was 1 boat every four days.

This is the same average number as recorded between 18 September and 14 December 2013.

There has been no significant increase (or decrease) in the number of boat arrivals since the start of the Abbott Government’s Operation Sovereign Borders.

The most insincere and perverse 'Merry Christmas!' of 2013

Federal Communications Minister and Telstra/BigPond Fail - BIG TIME!

It is 2.24 pm on the afternoon of 16 December 2013 and I am experiencing an all too familiar complaint with my Telstra/BigPond Broadband Internet connection.

I have been (sometimes for hours at a time) unable to connect to the Internet via my BigPond account since around 9.30am this morning.

This is not an isolated instance – it has been happening almost every day since, as a pensioner, I paid good money at commercial rates to Telstra/BigPond for a connection to the Internet via ADSL and Wireless.

I have complained to Telstra/BigPond again today as I have in the past and, they have as always always assured me that the connection problem will be fixed/is fixed.

However, that fix never lasts above half an hour to around twenty-four hours later.

I suspect that is because Telstra/BigPond is offering me an Internet service down copper wire infrastructure in a coastal section of a regional NSW flood plain, with a high water table which the company knows is impacted by acid sulphate.

Telstra Limited and BigPond are well aware that they are incapable of honouring the service publicly advertised, offered to and paid for by me - and the same service offered to many thousands of others on the NSW North Coast.

Perhaps Federal Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull might like to explain how he is to deliver the allegedly high-speed National Broadband Network to my street/door when Telstra/BigPond cannot even deliver a basic slow service to me today?

UPDATE

Executive Operations-Telstra contacted North Coast Voices on 17 December 2013 and is endeavoring to resolve the problems with my Internet connection.

UPDATE 2

It's now 7 February 2014 and I think it is safe to declare that my Internet connection problem has been resolved.

There is still the odd episode, but these are now measured in minutes not hours.

I have to say that I was impressed by the level of service Telstra displayed in resolving my very public complaint.

A special favourable mention goes to Executive Operations and to Tony the technician.

Nationals MP Kevin Hogan caught trying to rebrand funding

Federal Nationals MP for Page, Kevin Hogan, appears to think the voters in his electorate are all idiots and that this clumsy attempt to rebrand funding, by inserting himself into story, would go unnoticed.

This is Hogan in The Northern Star on 14 December 2013 along with Diesel the wombat and friends:

Three new rainproof features worth $500,000 were unveiled at the popular local attraction yesterday by owner Tony Gilding and Federal MP for Page Kevin Hogan....

"We have no problem getting tourists here," Mr Hogan said.

"But we know from every study we do the longer we keep them here, the more money they spend."

These are the same new features being announced in the Echo NetDaily eight months earlier by then Federal Labor Government MPs Janelle Saffin and Justine Elliot who were photographed with the very same wombat:

Tony Gilding of the castle yesterday announced a major expansion and refurbishment program. The program is in part funded by two grants from the federal government’s tourism industry assistance schemes. The total project budget is excess of $500,000 and the funding assistance from the federal government is $227,475. The balance will be funded by the Macadamia Castle.....

Federal MPs Justine Elliot and Janelle Saffin attended the launch of the Macadamia Castle expansion program. Ms Elliot said the Macadamia Castle is one of the north coast’s most iconic and exciting tourist destinations. In operation for more than 30 years, its animal park has provided exciting adventures for generations of kids. ‘I’m proud as the local MP to have delivered this important federal funding for an outstanding local business,’ she said. ‘This federal funding will help Macadamia Castle expand to provide more jobs and enhance their tourist attractions. I congratulate Macadamia Castle for their outstanding role as a major tourist destination on the north coast.’

Ms Saffin said she was pleased to support the application for federal funding as Macadamia Castle provides valuable employment and training opportunities to over 50 local people. ‘Many of his wonderful staff are my constituents, as are many of the local families that take advantage of the attractions wonderful facilities.’

Side by side with Hogan’s photo opportunity with the wombat, The Northern Star ran this short article on 14 December 2013:

THE Federal Government has scrapped the Tourism Industry Regional Development Fund Grants Program.

The Northern Rivers received $500,000 for two tourism-related infrastructure projects from the program.

It is understood the money will be redirected to larger tourism infrastructure projects instead of the government picking individual businesses to benefit.

"In line with the government's policy priorities for tourism, funds allocated to the TIRF grants program will be re-focused to support demand-driven infrastructure for the tourism industry," the Department of Industry website stated.

Apparently Diesel will not be having his photograph taken with Mr. Hogan again for quite a long while.

More bad press for Metgasco Limited

Just when coal seam gas exploration and wannabe production company Metgasco Limited thought that the Heilpern judgment might be fading from memory, comes this....

Ballina Shire Advocate 10 December 2013:

GREENS MLC David Shoebridge has obtained documents showing Metgasco CEO Peter Henderson was writing to Police Minister Michael Gallacher and Attorney General Greg Smith about anti-CSG protests in Northern NSW earlier this year.

The documents came as a result of a GIPA (Government Information Public Access) request from Mr Shoebridge after magistrate David Heilpern questioned whether charges against two protesters were politically motivated.

Mr Heilpern said the case against Alan Roberts and Bradley Rankin was "an abuse of the processes of the court" and said the police resources spent on a minor traffic offence were over the top.

"It is in that context that the realistic suspicion of political interference arise," he said.

Mr Shoebridge said the documents, seen by The Northern Star, raise more questions than they answer.

"There clearly was significant pressure from Metgasco for police to prosecute protesters.

"The public has a right to know the full extent of the corporate pressure on police to prosecute the Glenugie protesters and my office is making further application to the police to be provided with all of the correspondence they had with Metgasco."

Metgasco CEO Peter Henderson confirmed he wrote to four NSW ministers, saying they had "a legitimate, government-approved right to explore" within their licence area.....

I note that during Glenugie protests former Deputy State Director and Director of Party Affairs at Liberal Party of Australia (NSW Division) Richard Shields was still Metgasco’s External Relations Manager. Shield’s came to Metgasco in 2011 immediately after leaving his position with the Liberal Party machine.