This will hold the legislation up until July when the coalition loses its majority in the Senate. At that time the balance of power in the Senate will be held by The Family First party and an independent Senator from South Australia.
In the meantime the Taxation Commissioner has issued a statement advising motor dealers to collect the tax as and from 1st July otherwise they will be liable for the tax when the legislation passes through the Senate and is backdated to 1st July. |
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To backdate legislation has always been considered as a betrayal of the Westminster System of Government which is the foundation stone of the Australian Law.
The Senate has not validated this tax and there is no guarantee that it will, yet the tax Commissioner has demanded that motor dealers collect a tax which, at this point in time, has not been authorised by the Parliament.
Apart from the shadowy nature of this demand by the Tax Commissioner the decision itself is irrational and unjust. The introduction of GST was supposed to see other taxes like the Sales Tax abolished. The Government has simply reintroduced this tax under another name.
To suggest that a car costing more than $57,123 is a luxury car is an absolute nonsense and the Government knows this. There is a whole range of vehicles above this limit that are purchased by struggling families who need a vehicle to transport their children to and from school and sporting events on the weekend.
The threshold has not moved for years and the price of vehicles has increased. Consequently the Luxury Car classification has been widened to include many vehicles that were not previously included.
To impose a burdensome tax like this on an industry that is struggling is incomprehensible. We must ask ourselves if this government is hell bent on destroying the retail motor industry or is it just incompetent.
