The following Legislative Instruments were registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments on Mon 28.5.2012. They make amendments to the relevant principal regulations to, among other things, adjust the operation of the low income tax offset (LITO) and merge the senior Australians tax offset (SATO) and the pensioner tax offset (PTO) into the new seniors and pensioners tax offset (SAPTO), as announced as part of the Government’s carbon tax policy to assist low and middle-income income households.
The Legislative Instruments are:
- Taxation Administration Amendment Regulation 2012 (No 2) – amends the Taxation Administration Regulations 1976 to: change the amount of LITO that the Commissioner can take into account of in determining schedules at which income tax is withheld; and to take account of the merger of the SATO and the PTO into the new SAPTO (see Income Tax Amendment Regulation 2012 (No 1)); and
- Income Tax Amendment Regulation 2012 (No 1) – amends the Income Tax Regulations 1936 to: reflect the merger of the PTO and the SATO into the new SAPTO; amend the way in which the offset amount for the beneficiary tax offset (BTO) is calculated; and amend the way in which the amount of SAPTO that can be transferred between one eligible member of a couple and another is determined.
The changes commence on 1 July 2012.
[LTN 102, 29/5]