Senator COONAN (12:56 PM) —I rise to speak on the Tax Laws Amendment (2009 Measures No. 3) Bill 2009. This bill was introduced on 14 May and contains various technical aspects amending the tax law. It consists of four schedules. The opposition will be supporting its passage through the Senate. I will briefly mention the schedules.

Schedule 1 will set the GST adjustment factor for the 2009-10 income year at two per cent. Earlier this year the government legislated for a reduction of that factor in light of the global financial crisis. The schedule we are looking at today merely continues this reduction for the 2009-10 income year. Under the PAYG instalment system certain taxpayers calculate the PAYG instalment amounts according to the GDP adjustment factor. The factor is determined using the nominal rate of GDP growth between the last two years. It would have been nine per cent for the 2009-10 income year. That means taxpayers would be required to pay PAYG amounts that are nine per cent above their income from the previous year. So this schedule sets the GDP adjustment factor for income year 2009-10 at two per cent, reflecting the forecast increase in the CPI. Of course we welcome this schedule but do believe that much more can be done to help small businesses.

Schedule 2 will allow entities that voluntarily register for GST to align their reporting of PAYG with their GST reporting. This measure was announced by the previous coalition government to reduce compliance costs for eligible taxpayers, so I am very pleased that the government has decided to legislate this measure. It will reduce the compliance burden on entities that voluntarily register for GST by allowing them to report GST and PAYG together on an annual basis, which will allow for greater administrative efficiency.

Schedule 3 makes some technical amendments to the petroleum resource rent tax regime. The measures in schedule 3 were announced by the previous coalition government in 2007-08. In last year’s budget the current government announced that it would proceed with the measures, with an effective date of 1 July 2008. So, technically speaking, schedule 3 will introduce a functional currency rule into the petroleum resource rent tax regime along similar lines to the functional currency rule used for income tax.

Schedule 4 is similar to those seen in many tax laws amendment bills. It amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to update the deductible gift recipient list to include three new entities: the Royal Institution of Australia, Diplomacy Training Program Ltd and the Leeuwin Ocean Adventure Foundation Ltd. We are very pleased to support efficiencies and amendments to the tax system that deal with the administration of tax. It assists taxpayers and it assists the administration of the tax system more broadly. With those words I commend this bill to the Senate.