19 June 2010

Tax on a tax

| haplogroup
Join the conversation
8

To add insult to injury the ACT Government Utilities Tax Charge on Telstra phone bills also charges GST on the Tax!

State and Territory governments also “steal” from its citizens by applying GST to the stamp duty on insurance premiums.

I am deafened by the silence of the media on this issue. For me it isn’t the cost that angers me, it is the principle. At what point in history did governments come up with the idea of charging a tax on a tax!

Join the conversation

8
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

It’s the way that these costs are passed onto us that is the bloody annoying part!
People like Transact have the cheek to tell me that they are charging me the utilities tax. Eh? Since when did entities like Transact have the legal right to tax me?
If they had just slightly increased their charges to cover what this slimy guvmint had done then I wouldn’t object – I vehemently object to being told that I have to pay ANOTHER BLOODY TAX!!

And another thing while I’m at it, what do the useless guvmint do with the money they get from taxes such as the utilities tax? Well, they waste it on so called ‘art’ and a needless proliferation of stupid road signs everywhere.

GRRRR!

I belive Telstra is s*%tscared about it because their entire national telecommunications infrastructure is located on land they do not own and have never paid for! They used to be protected from the need to pay state governments anything for use of land by schedule 3 of the Commonwealth Telco Act, however, in 2004 the High Court struck that protection down in part. What the ACT has done is used that case to get to the economic rents of a monopoly telco carrier. That’s why Telstra did not challenge it on consitutional grounds in the courts. They don’t think they can win. Queanbeyan City Council, however, was not so timid. Telstra only started charging customers the month before the first court case was decided because they expected to lose and wanted to ramp up the political presure on the ACT Government. It’s a bit of a ‘don’t mention the war’ issue for the Commonwealth.

troll-sniffer9:03 am 21 Jun 10

Scenes from the big building on the hill…

“Kevin, we have a problem.”
“Oh really? Not another one? What is it this time?”
“Apparently there’s a tax on a tax down in the real world out there.”
“And?”
“Well some honest hard-working Mcmansion-owning plasma-watching PSP-playing folks are being slugged 20c GST on a network tax that some other goodly folk think is a huge imposition on their deprived lifestyles.”
“Gees, don’t let bloody Twiggy Forest or Clive Palmer know or they too will whinge and moan about a tax they don’t like”
“So go for Plan B then? Dump the mining tax?”
“Yeah Julia, it was a good idea but we can’t risk taking it any further with these new revelations. Advisers! In here now, front and centre… I need a new plan…”

screaming banshee9:44 pm 20 Jun 10

Paid GST on your fuel excise lately?

Or does your car run off solar power collected from the reflections from your tin-foil hat.

Woody Mann-Caruso10:58 pm 19 Jun 10

How else can I interpret it?

How about interpreting it the way it’s written? Let’s look at it slowly:

“From 1 July 2010, the monthly charge for the ACT Government Utilities (Network Facilities) Tax will increase from $2.10 (incl. GST) to $2.28 (incl. GST).”

See the words in bold? The tax doesn’t include GST. Telstra’s monthly charge for the tax – the amount of the tax they decide to recoup from you – includes GST.

haplogroup said :

I quote (from most recent Telstra phone bill):

“Important Messages

Increase to ACT Government Utilities (Network Facilities) Tax Charge

From 1 July 2010, the monthly charge for the ACT Government Utilities (Network Facilities) Tax will increase from $2.10 (incl. GST) to $2.28 (incl. GST). In 2007 the ACT Government imposed this tax on utilities companies that supply utilities to ACT residents and businesses, including those in Jervis Bay. The charge on your bill is to partly recover the cost of this tax.

If you’d like to know more, go to telstra.com/actfaciltiestaxcharge or call us on the number shown on the front of this bill.”

Where the text says “from $2.10 (incl. GST) to $2.28 (incl. GST)”, I am left with the understanding that the utilities tax also includes a goods and services tax. How else can I interpret it?

I think you missed Mr Reason’s point. ACT Government charges Telstra a certain lump sum figure for the entire network (i think its per km of network etc). Telstra then works out how much per customer that is, and then charges you. The ACT Government does not charge Telstra per customer. That’s my understanding anyway.

In either case there are numerous examples of this – Petrol, Alcohol,Tobacco excise all have GST levied on them.

I quote (from most recent Telstra phone bill):

“Important Messages

Increase to ACT Government Utilities (Network Facilities) Tax Charge

From 1 July 2010, the monthly charge for the ACT Government Utilities (Network Facilities) Tax will increase from $2.10 (incl. GST) to $2.28 (incl. GST). In 2007 the ACT Government imposed this tax on utilities companies that supply utilities to ACT residents and businesses, including those in Jervis Bay. The charge on your bill is to partly recover the cost of this tax.

If you’d like to know more, go to telstra.com/actfaciltiestaxcharge or call us on the number shown on the front of this bill.”

Where the text says “from $2.10 (incl. GST) to $2.28 (incl. GST)”, I am left with the understanding that the utilities tax also includes a goods and services tax. How else can I interpret it?

I think you’ll find that the tax (the Network Facilities Tax) is actually levied on Telstra (and the other utility service providers), not on you the customer. Therefore it forms part of the utilities’ costs which they bill you for, and the GST is on that amount. Therefore not a tax on a tax, any more than you are paying a tax on their payroll tax expense etc.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.