Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS (TRANSMITTER LICENCE TAX) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1993 NO. 165

STATUTORY RULES 1993 No. 165

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Communications

Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Act 1983

Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Regulations (Amendment)

The Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Act 1983 (the Act) with its associated regulations is part of the regime by which the Government imposes a tax on Radiocommunications Receivers. Section 6 of the Act imposes a tax on the grant of a receiver licence and Section 7 of the Act provides that the amount of tax is the amount which is prescribed in the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Regulations. Another part of the regime is the Radiocommunications (Licensing and General) Regulations which contain definitions of the types of transmitters to be taxed.

Section 9 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of section 7 of the Act.

As part of the spectrum management reform established in the Radiocommunications Act 1992 the government established the Spectrum Management Agency (the SMA) which will come into operation on 1 July 1993. The SMA will continue to derive revenue by recovering transmitter tax, but rather than prescribing the amount of transmitter tax in regulations the SMA may set determinations of the amount of transmitter tax.

The Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Amendment Act 1992 (the 1992 Act) commences on 1 July 1993. Subsection 7(1) of the 1992 Act repeals section 7 of the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Act 1983 and substitutes a new Section 7 that provides for the amount of tax in respect of the issue of a transmitter licence to be the amount determined by the SMA. Subsection 7(2) of the 1992 Act provides that until the SMA makes a determination under section 7 of the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Act 1983, as amended by the 1992 Act, the regulations made under section 9 that were in force immediately before the commencement of the 1992 Act continue in force as if they were determinations made by the SMA.

The purpose of the regulations is to insert a new definition and to clearly refer to the version of the Radiocommunications (Licensing and General) Regulations which was in force on 30 June 1993. Thus linking the SMA determination on 1 July 1993 to the transmitter licence tax .regime in place on 30 June 1993 which provides the framework whereby the SMA may continue the imposition and recovery of transmitter tax, currently imposed in the Radiocommunications (Transmitter Licence Tax) Regulations and the Radiocommunications (Licensing and General) Regulations.