{"id":"tas:sr-2020-029","name":"Payroll Tax (Pandemic) Order (No. 2) 2020","slug":"payroll-tax-pandemic-order-no-2-2020","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"29 of 2020","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":182654,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-2020-029-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### 1 Short title\n\n> This order may be cited as the [Payroll Tax (Pandemic) Order (No. 2) 2020](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/sr-2020-029) .","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"### 2 Commencement\n\n> This order takes effect on the day on which its making is notified in the *Gazette*.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"### 3 Interpretation\n\n> > (1)  In this order –\n> > \n> > > ***Act*** means the [Payroll Tax Act 2008](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-2008-016) ;\n> > \n> > > ***jobkeeper payment*** means a payment that –\n> > > \n> > > > > (a) is payable by the Commonwealth in accordance with the rules made under the *Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Act 2020* of the Commonwealth; and\n> > > > \n> > > > > (b) is known as the jobkeeper payment.\n> \n> > (2)  The [Acts Interpretation Act 1931](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1931-059) applies to the interpretation of this order as if this order were by-laws.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Waiver of payroll tax","content":"### 4 Waiver of payroll tax\n\n> > (1)  [*\\[Clause 4 Subclause (1) amended by S.R. 2020, No. 58, Applied:23 Sep 2020\\]*](/view/html/inforce/2020-09-23/sr-2020-058#GS4@EN) This clause applies if an employer is entitled to receive a jobkeeper payment in respect of an employee for a fortnight that occurs during the period commencing on 30 March 2020 and ending on 28 March 2021 (both days inclusive).\n> \n> > (2)  The employer is not required to pay payroll tax under the Act in respect of the amount of taxable wages paid or payable to the employee that is equal to the amount of the jobkeeper payment that the employer is entitled to receive for that employee for those wages.\n\nDisplayed and numbered in accordance with the *[Rules Publication Act 1953](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1953-050)*.\n\nNotified in the *Gazette* on 1 May 2020\n\nThis order is administered in the Department of Treasury and Finance.","sortOrder":3}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"Status Information / Currency of version","severity":"medium","reasoning":"If the file was last modified on 23 September 2020 and a Table of Amending Instruments exists (clickable link provided), these two facts are in tension. Either amendments were made (requiring file modification) or they were not. The document cannot coherently assert both a static modification date and the existence of amending instruments without contradiction.","confidence":0.65,"description":"The document states it is 'current from 23 September 2020 to date (accessed 5 April 2026 at 16:22)' but the file was last modified on 23 September 2020, implying no amendments have ever been made. Yet the document simultaneously references a 'Table of Amending Instruments', logically implying amendments do exist."},{"type":"other","section":"Status Information - Currency Statement","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Emergency or pandemic legislative instruments are typically designed with temporal limits commensurate with the emergency. An order titled 'Pandemic Order' that remains operative with no visible expiry or revocation mechanism for over five years after the declared emergency period raises questions about whether the instrument was ever properly wound back, creating potential ongoing legal obligations or entitlements that were never intended to be permanent.","confidence":0.6,"description":"The instrument purports to be a pandemic-related payroll tax relief order but remains 'current to date' as of April 2026, nearly six years after enactment. A pandemic emergency instrument with no apparent sunset clause or expiry provision operating indefinitely is structurally anomalous and potentially unintended."},{"type":"other","section":"Document Structure - Repeated Headers","severity":"low","reasoning":"Legislative instruments must be clear and unambiguous. Duplicated headings, even if a rendering issue, undermine the principle that legislative text must be certain. A court interpreting the instrument as presented would face genuine difficulty determining whether duplicated sections create duplicated obligations or are surplusage.","confidence":0.45,"description":"The document contains multiple verbatim repetitions of section headings (e.g., 'Status Information Status Information', 'Currency of version Currency of version', 'Authorisation Authorisation'), each appearing to duplicate itself. While likely a formatting/rendering artefact, if treated as operative legislative text, this creates structural absurdity where each provision appears to apply twice."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Status Information - Table of Amending Instruments","section_b":"Authorisation - File last modified 23 September 2020","confidence":0.62,"description":"The document provides a clickable 'Table of Amending Instruments' suggesting amendments exist, while simultaneously asserting the file was last modified on 23 September 2020 (the original enactment date). If amendments were made, the file modification date should reflect those changes. These two statements cannot both be accurate."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"Currency of version - 'usually updated within 3 working days after a change'","section_b":"Authorisation - File last modified 23 September 2020","confidence":0.58,"description":"The site's own currency policy states legislation is updated within 3 working days of any change. The file modification date has not moved from 23 September 2020 despite being accessed on 5 April 2026. This either means no changes occurred (contradicting the existence of a Table of Amending Instruments) or the site failed its own stated update obligation."}]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Clause 4(1) is marked as amended by S.R. 2020 No.58 (applied 23 Sep 2020), indicating the order's operative detail was altered after initial issue. The text shown sets a single, specific operative period (30 March 2020–28 March 2021); the amendment note shows the instrument's scope was changed, though the exact prior text is not included here."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow temporal scope: applies only to fortnights from 30 March 2020 to 28 March 2021 (cl.4(1)).","Dependence on Commonwealth scheme: definition of 'jobkeeper payment' relies on rules under the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (cl.3).","Interaction with existing law: operates by carving out an amount from 'taxable wages' under the Payroll Tax Act 2008 (cl.3, cl.4(2)).","Administrative burden: requires employers and tax authorities to identify the JobKeeper-equivalent amount when calculating payroll tax (cl.4(2)).","Formal interpretation: applies Acts Interpretation Act 1931 rules to the order (cl.3(2)).","Amendment history flagged: clause 4(1) was amended (S.R. 2020 No.58), implying prior change to scope or operation."],"plain_english_summary":"This order waives state payroll tax for the portion of an employee’s taxable wages that equals the Commonwealth \"jobkeeper payment\" an employer is entitled to receive for any fortnight between 30 March 2020 and 28 March 2021. It affects employers who receive JobKeeper: they do not pay payroll tax on the JobKeeper-equivalent wage component. Employers and payroll authorities must identify and exclude that amount when calculating taxable wages."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on available information, this appears to be a targeted emergency instrument consistent with its stated purpose of providing pandemic-related payroll tax relief. There is no evidence from the metadata that its scope shifted from its original intent, though the absence of operative text prevents a definitive assessment."},"complexity_factors":["The provided text contains only metadata and status information — no operative legal provisions are visible, making full analysis impossible","Payroll tax law itself can be moderately complex, but pandemic relief orders are typically narrowly targeted and straightforward in purpose","As a statutory instrument (order) rather than an Act, it is likely brief and specific in scope","Being the second in a series ('No. 2') suggests it builds on or amends an earlier order, adding a small layer of cross-referential complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"This Tasmanian government order (from 23 September 2020) adjusted payroll tax rules for employers during the COVID‑19 emergency, providing targeted relief—such as deferrals, waivers or exemptions—to help businesses facing sudden revenue loss. It affects employers who pay payroll tax (generally those above the threshold).\n\nThe full operative text isn’t provided here, so precise eligibility and timeframes can’t be confirmed. The relief likely has expired for most businesses but may still matter for audits, disputes or historical compliance reviews."},"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":"This delegated legislation served a narrow, time-limited purpose from inception: providing a specific payroll tax exemption for JobKeeper-related wages during the pandemic. The scope has not expanded beyond this original intent."},"complexity_factors":["Very short document (only 4 substantive clauses)","Only 2 defined terms ('Act' and 'jobkeeper payment')","Single, straightforward operative provision with minimal conditions","No nested exceptions or complex cross-referencing beyond basic statute interpretation rules","Clear temporal limitation (fixed start and end dates)","One simple amendment noted in editorial marking but doesn't affect current readability"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a Tasmanian government order from 2020 that gave businesses a tax break during the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Waives (cancels) payroll tax** for certain wages paid to employees\n- Specifically, if an employer received the Commonwealth's \"JobKeeper\" payment (a federal wage subsidy during COVID-19), they don't have to pay state payroll tax on the portion of wages equal to that JobKeeper amount\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Tasmanian employers who received JobKeeper payments for their employees\n- The waiver applies to wages paid between **30 March 2020 and 28 March 2021**\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- During the pandemic, the federal government paid employers JobKeeper subsidies to keep workers employed\n- Normally, employers pay state payroll tax on all wages\n- This order prevented \"double-dipping\" concerns — it meant businesses weren't taxed by Tasmania on money they received from the federal government to pay workers\n- It reduced costs for struggling businesses during an economic crisis\n\n**Key point:** If an employer got $1,500 in JobKeeper for an employee, they didn't pay Tasmanian payroll tax on $1,500 of that employee's wages."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/payroll-tax-pandemic-order-no-2-2020","history":"/api/acts/payroll-tax-pandemic-order-no-2-2020/history","analysis":"/api/acts/payroll-tax-pandemic-order-no-2-2020/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/payroll-tax-pandemic-order-no-2-2020/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/payroll-tax-pandemic-order-no-2-2020/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/payroll-tax-pandemic-order-no-2-2020/documents"}}