STORY LINK

Marriage and death hit by GST............(segment)
By Economics correspondent IAN HENDERSON
01feb00

PET fees, drivers licences and business licences will escape the GST but marriage licences, national park entry charges and cemetery and cremation fees will be hit by the new tax, Peter Costello said yesterday.

Unveiling the list of taxes and government charges that will be GST-free, the Treasurer said the line dividing those payments from all the others to which the GST would apply was simple. The principle is "that if something is a tax or a regulatory charge, it is not subject to the GST", he said.

"If it is a fee for service, particularly if it is a fee for service in those areas where a government is competing with the private sector which would be subject to GST, generally it is included."

..................(end segment)

Comment:
Interested form regulars are watching the GST tax debate in Australia. Listed exemptions come to 327 pages and growing in length. This is also growing in confusion. I won't repeat what joe blogs says on civvy street.

Regards from OZ

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), January 31, 2000

Answers

How very efficient of the Australian government to attempt to combine life's only two constants (death and taxes) into one! They must be very proud.

-- Die Fledermaus (shadow@alliance.org), January 31, 2000.