Mr WOOD - 2003-05-28
My question is on behalf of yourself, Madam Speaker, as member for Braitling.
Treasurer, you have introduced a policy that used car dealers must now collect stamp duty on vehicles purchased in an effort to stop the abuses and rorts within the used car industry. All you have done is penalise the honest dealers by requiring them to become tax collectors. How will this impost fix the problem of unregistered dealers selling privately to Aboriginal people? Why do you not get Consumer Affairs to be more proactive, particularly when they are informed of deals being done without registration or vehicle checks?
ANSWER
I thank the member for his question. Indeed, it is a concern in relation to the private, or backyard, sales. It is something that is exercising Treasury’s mind at the moment regarding another loop that needs to be closed in this question of transfers and stamp duty.
In relation to the idea of the second-hand car dealer collecting the stamp duty on the transfer of registration at the point of sale, it is a move that has been successfully adopted in Victoria. It is really putting it in a slot earlier than it should otherwise occur. At the point of sale, we know, unfortunately, that there have been unscrupulous operators in the industry - car yards, not backyard private to private sales, but car yards - who have taken the stamp duty due on that vehicle for the transfer of the registration at the point of sale, and guess what, Madam Speaker? It never found its way through the system to Treasury; it was pocketed. We know of one person who operated a car yard - I believe it was in Palmerston. I remember him with some affection because it was the former Chief Minister, Shane Stone, who stood in this House and drew my attention to the fact that this particular gentleman had erected a very large sign outside his car yard saying something to the effect of: ‘Having a party? Invite Labor’s Syd Stirling. He is a clown’. Well, that is the sort of individual that we are referring to and we are endeavouring to pick up in the net. He was last heard of in Canada, I believe, with debts of $85 000 owed to quite a few people for pretty fraudulent dealing.
We do know that there is a gap here. It is a system that seems to work in Victoria. We have not put a time on the commencement date to pick this up because there will be some work with the industry in arrangements and mechanisms to ensure that this works. We are not going to rush anyone into this before systems are made adequate in order to get it up and running properly.
There have been some complaints reported that we are forcing them to be tax collectors. Even in the old days, with the sales tax at point of sale, businesses were acting, in a sense, as tax collection agents. The GST itself uses business operators as tax collectors for and on behalf of government. In this sense it is no different to that. Of course, if it is a new car, it is all paid at the point of sale in any case.
We will work with the industry to get the mechanics in place, and Treasury will consult with them to make sure the mechanics are right before we put a date and say with effect as of when.
Treasurer, you have introduced a policy that used car dealers must now collect stamp duty on vehicles purchased in an effort to stop the abuses and rorts within the used car industry. All you have done is penalise the honest dealers by requiring them to become tax collectors. How will this impost fix the problem of unregistered dealers selling privately to Aboriginal people? Why do you not get Consumer Affairs to be more proactive, particularly when they are informed of deals being done without registration or vehicle checks?
ANSWER
I thank the member for his question. Indeed, it is a concern in relation to the private, or backyard, sales. It is something that is exercising Treasury’s mind at the moment regarding another loop that needs to be closed in this question of transfers and stamp duty.
In relation to the idea of the second-hand car dealer collecting the stamp duty on the transfer of registration at the point of sale, it is a move that has been successfully adopted in Victoria. It is really putting it in a slot earlier than it should otherwise occur. At the point of sale, we know, unfortunately, that there have been unscrupulous operators in the industry - car yards, not backyard private to private sales, but car yards - who have taken the stamp duty due on that vehicle for the transfer of the registration at the point of sale, and guess what, Madam Speaker? It never found its way through the system to Treasury; it was pocketed. We know of one person who operated a car yard - I believe it was in Palmerston. I remember him with some affection because it was the former Chief Minister, Shane Stone, who stood in this House and drew my attention to the fact that this particular gentleman had erected a very large sign outside his car yard saying something to the effect of: ‘Having a party? Invite Labor’s Syd Stirling. He is a clown’. Well, that is the sort of individual that we are referring to and we are endeavouring to pick up in the net. He was last heard of in Canada, I believe, with debts of $85 000 owed to quite a few people for pretty fraudulent dealing.
We do know that there is a gap here. It is a system that seems to work in Victoria. We have not put a time on the commencement date to pick this up because there will be some work with the industry in arrangements and mechanisms to ensure that this works. We are not going to rush anyone into this before systems are made adequate in order to get it up and running properly.
There have been some complaints reported that we are forcing them to be tax collectors. Even in the old days, with the sales tax at point of sale, businesses were acting, in a sense, as tax collection agents. The GST itself uses business operators as tax collectors for and on behalf of government. In this sense it is no different to that. Of course, if it is a new car, it is all paid at the point of sale in any case.
We will work with the industry to get the mechanics in place, and Treasury will consult with them to make sure the mechanics are right before we put a date and say with effect as of when.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016