{"id":"C1971A00104","name":"Pay-roll Tax (State Taxation of Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1971","slug":"pay-roll-tax-state-taxation-of-commonwealth-authorities-act-1971","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"104 of 1971","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":2340,"registerId":"C1971A00104","compilationNumber":"0","startDate":"1971-09-01","status":"InForce","reasons":[],"registeredAt":"2013-01-23T20:24:35.090Z"},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Pay-roll Tax (State Taxation of Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1971","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nPay‑roll Tax (State Taxation of Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1971\n\n \n\nNo. 104 of 1971\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act relating to Liability for State Pay‑roll Tax of certain Commonwealth authorities\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n[1 Short title](#_Toc425174492)\n\n[2 Commencement](#_Toc425174493)\n\n[3 Interpretation](#_Toc425174494)\n\n[4 Liability of Commonwealth authorities for State pay‑roll tax](#_Toc425174495)\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nPay‑roll Tax (State Taxation of Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1971\n\nNo. 104 of 1971\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act relating to Liability for State Pay‑roll Tax of certain Commonwealth authorities\n\n[Assented to 30 November 1971]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n##### 1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Pay‑roll Tax (State Taxation of Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1971.\n\n##### 2  Commencement\n\n  This Act shall be deemed to have come into operation on the date of commencement of the Pay‑roll Tax (Termination of Commonwealth Tax) Act 1971.\n\n##### 3  Interpretation\n\n (1) In this Act:\n\nCommonwealth authority means an authority or body constituted or established by an Act.\n\nCommonwealth authority subject to Commonwealth pay‑roll tax means a Commonwealth authority:\n\n (a) that was registered as an employer under the Pay‑roll Tax Assessment Act 1941‑1969; or\n\n (b) in respect of which an application for registration as an employer under that Act was pending, immediately before the commencement of this Act.\n\npay‑roll tax law, in relation to a State, means a law of that State that relates to the imposition, assessment and collection of a tax on wages.\n\n (2) For the purposes of this Act, an authority or body continued in existence by an Act shall be deemed to be constituted by that Act.\n\n##### 4  Liability of Commonwealth authorities for State pay‑roll tax\n\n  Where the Act that constitutes or establishes a Commonwealth authority, being a Commonwealth authority subject to Commonwealth pay‑roll tax, contains provision:\n\n (a) to the effect that the Commonwealth authority is not subject to taxation under a law of a State to which the Commonwealth is not subject; or\n\n (b) to the effect that the Commonwealth authority is not, except with respect to stamp duty, subject to taxation under a law of a State to which the Commonwealth is not subject,\n\nthat provision does not have effect in relation to taxation under the pay‑roll tax law of that State.\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act narrows prior immunity in constituting Acts by providing that any provision exempting a Commonwealth authority from State taxation does not apply to State pay‑roll tax (s 4). It applies only to authorities that were registered, or had pending registration, under the Commonwealth Pay‑roll Tax Assessment Act 1941–1969 immediately before commencement (s 3(1)). Commencement is tied to the Pay‑roll Tax (Termination of Commonwealth Tax) Act 1971 (s 2)."},"complexity_factors":["Short, single-purpose statute with few sections (low textual complexity).","Key operation hinges on one overriding rule (s 4) that nullifies exemption clauses in constituting Acts.","Narrow definitions (\"Commonwealth authority subject to Commonwealth pay‑roll tax\", \"pay‑roll tax law\") limit application but require cross-checking registration status.","Cross-references to other Acts: Pay‑roll Tax Assessment Act 1941–1969 and the Pay‑roll Tax (Termination of Commonwealth Tax) Act 1971 (s 2), creating dependency on external commencement timing and historical registration records.","Interplay between federal constituting Acts and State taxation regimes creates interjurisdictional legal interaction, though the statute resolves the specific conflict in one direction."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act prevents a Commonwealth authority’s constituting Act from excluding that authority from State payroll tax. It makes authorities that were registered (or had a registration application pending) under the Commonwealth Pay‑roll Tax Assessment Act 1941–1969 immediately before commencement liable to State payroll tax. It matters because it removes specific statutory exemptions in constituting Acts so States can impose, assess and collect payroll tax from those Commonwealth authorities."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: removing state tax immunity for Commonwealth authorities specifically regarding payroll tax. The scope has not expanded beyond the narrow 1971 policy objective of ensuring these bodies pay state payroll tax after the federal system was abolished."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute: only 4 sections spanning approximately 1 page","Only 3 defined terms in the interpretation section (section 3)","Single operative provision (section 4) with straightforward conditional logic","No cross-references to other legislation except for commencement date linkage","Simple binary trigger: applies only to authorities already registered for federal payroll tax","No exceptions, exemptions, or nested conditions within the main operative section"],"plain_english_summary":"This law makes certain Commonwealth government bodies pay state payroll tax.\n\n**What it does:**\nNormally, some Commonwealth authorities (government bodies created by federal laws) are exempt from state taxes because of special clauses in their founding legislation. This Act removes that exemption specifically for **payroll tax** — a tax employers pay on their workers' wages.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Commonwealth authorities** that were already registered for federal payroll tax (or had applications pending) when this law started\n- These are typically government-owned businesses or statutory bodies like Australia Post, the ABC, or CSIRO (though the exact list depends on their registration status in 1971)\n\n**How it works:**\nMany Commonwealth authorities have legal clauses saying they're \"not subject to state taxation\" (or similar wording). This Act says: *those clauses don't apply to payroll tax*. So states can tax these bodies' wage bills just like they tax private employers.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis was part of a broader 1971 reform where the federal government stopped collecting its own payroll tax and handed the field to the states. This Act ensures Commonwealth authorities couldn't use their special status to avoid paying the state taxes that replaced the old federal system. It levels the playing field between public and private employers."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/pay-roll-tax-state-taxation-of-commonwealth-authorities-act-1971","history":"/api/acts/pay-roll-tax-state-taxation-of-commonwealth-authorities-act-1971/history","analysis":"/api/acts/pay-roll-tax-state-taxation-of-commonwealth-authorities-act-1971/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/pay-roll-tax-state-taxation-of-commonwealth-authorities-act-1971/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/pay-roll-tax-state-taxation-of-commonwealth-authorities-act-1971/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/pay-roll-tax-state-taxation-of-commonwealth-authorities-act-1971/documents"}}