Law in Limbo: will Bill stop the Bills?
With the next Federal Election expected in May, there are currently several pending bills in the Parliament introduced by the Coalition Government (Coalition). The current bills could have a significant impact across a number of areas of tax. We look at several of these pieces of legislation and the potential affect the pending election may have on them.
The 2019 Federal Budget was released on 2 April. Read our key summary here. Whilst the much-anticipated changes to Division 7A continue to be deferred, the Budget addressed the instant write-off for small business entities. As a result of the Budget, the Senate amended the instant asset write-off and this morning, 4 April 2019, it was approved by House of Representatives. However, the instant write-off is not yet law as it awaits Royal Assent.
This is not the only proposed tax legislation introduced by the Coalition which remains before the House of Representatives or the Senate for debate or awaiting Royal Assent. A number of proposed laws currently sit in this legal limbo.
By way of background, prior to becoming law, bills must be considered by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Once the two houses have passed a bill it is provided to the Governor-General for Royal Assent. At this time, it becomes law. The issue facing these pieces of tax legislation is that when a House is dissolved or prorogued, such as by an election, all proceedings come to an end and all bills lapse. If it is desired to proceed with a bill that has lapsed following a dissolution, a new bill must be introduced, as there is no provision for proceedings to be carried over from Parliament to Parliament.
Both houses sat on 2 and 3 April 2019. However not all pending tax legislation was debated. With the Senate not expected to sit again until mid-May this may be after the next election. Therefore, where do we stand with this legislation?
[2] The Hon Scott Morrison MP & The Hon Michael Sukkar MP, Increasing the supply of affordable housing, 14 September 2017.
[3] Economics Legislation Committee, 2018, Report onTreasury Laws Amendment (Making Sure Foreign Investors Pay Their Fair Share of Tax in Australia and Other Measures) Bill2018 [Provisions] and related bills.
Laura Spencer
Senior Associate
T +61 3 9611 0110
lspencer@sladen.com.au
Daniel Smedley
Principal | Accredited Specialist in Tax Law
M +61 411 319 327| T +61 3 9611 0105
E: dsmedley@sladen.com.au
Neil Brydges
Principal Lawyer | Accredited Specialist in Tax Law
M +61 407 821 157 | T +61 3 9611 0176
E: nbrydges@sladen.com.au
Annabell Rehmer
Law Clerk
T +61 3 9611 0196
E: arehmer@sladen.com.au