{"id":"state-enterprises-commonwealth-tax-equivalents-act-1996","name":"State Enterprises (Commonwealth Tax Equivalents) Act 1996","slug":"state-enterprises-commonwealth-tax-equivalents-act-1996","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":110333,"registerId":"wa-state-enterprises-commonwealth-tax-equivalents-act-1996-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"State Enterprises (Commonwealth Tax Equivalents) Act 1996","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nState Enterprises (Commonwealth Tax Equivalents) Act 1996\n\nWestern Australia\n\nState Enterprises (Commonwealth Tax Equivalents) Act 1996\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Application in 1996/97 financial year 1\n\n4. Interpretation 2\n\n5. Payment of amount in lieu of Commonwealth tax 2\n\n6. Application of section 5 to State enterprises 2\n\n7. Determination of amounts under section 5 3\n\n8. Regulations 3\n\n9. Repeal and transitional provisions 3\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 5\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nState Enterprises (Commonwealth Tax Equivalents) Act 1996\n\nAn Act to authorise the imposition on State enterprises of liability to pay to the Consolidated Account amounts equivalent to income and sales tax from which they are exempt under Commonwealth law, to repeal the *Public Authorities (Contributions) Act 1974* and to amend certain other Acts 2.\n\n[Long title amended: No. 77 of 2006 s. 4.]\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *State Enterprises (Commonwealth Tax Equivalents) Act 1996* 1.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act comes into operation on such day as is fixed by proclamation 1.\n\n##### 3. Application in 1996/97 financial year\n\n(1) If when this Act commences the obligation in section 5 applies to a State enterprise in respect of the financial year that began on 1 July 1996, the application of the obligation extends to the period from 30 June 1996 to the commencement of this Act.\n\n(2) Regulations made under section 6(2) may vary the operation of subsection (1) in respect of a particular State enterprise.\n\n(3) When this Act commences the repeal and amendments made by sections 9 and 10 are to be taken to have come into operation on 1 July 1996.\n\n##### 4. Interpretation\n\nIn this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —\n\n  financial year includes part of a financial year;\n\n  income tax means the tax levied under section 17 of the *Income Tax Assessment Act 1936* of the Commonwealth;\n\n  sales tax means the tax that is payable under the *Sales Tax Assessment Act 1992* of the Commonwealth;\n\n  State enterprise means —\n\n(a) a company; or\n\n(b) a body established by a written law,\n\nthat is for the time being a State/Territory body (and not an excluded STB) under Division 1AB of Part III of the *Income Tax Assessment Act 1936* of the Commonwealth or section 3D of the *Sales Tax (Exemptions and Classifications) Act 1992* of the Commonwealth.\n\n##### 5. Payment of amount in lieu of Commonwealth tax\n\n(1) A State enterprise to which this section applies is to pay to the Treasurer a tax equivalent sum in respect of each financial year.\n\n(2) The tax equivalent sum is to equal the amount of any income tax or sales tax for which the enterprise would have been liable in respect of the financial year if the enterprise were not exempt from that tax under the relevant Commonwealth Act.\n\n##### 6. Application of section 5 to State enterprises\n\n(1) The obligation in section 5 only applies —\n\n(a) to a State enterprise if, and to the extent that, it is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of that section; and\n\n(b) in respect of a financial year during which the State enterprise is exempt from income tax or sales tax under the relevant Commonwealth law.\n\n(2) Where a State enterprise is so prescribed, or the prescription of a State enterprise is revoked, the regulations may make provisions of a transitional nature that are necessary or convenient in connection with the prescription or revocation.\n\n##### 7. Determination of amounts under section 5\n\n(1) The Treasurer is to determine —\n\n(a) the principles and rules according to which the liability under section 5 is to be assessed;\n\n(b) who is to make the assessments; and\n\n(c) the times at which payments are to be made.\n\n(2) The Treasurer may also give directions and rulings for the purpose of giving effect to section 5.\n\n(3) A State enterprise is to comply with any such determination, direction or ruling that applies to it.\n\n(4) This section has effect subject to any regulations of the kind referred to in section 6(2).\n\n##### 8. Regulations\n\nThe Governor may make regulations prescribing all matters that are required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed, or are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for giving effect to this Act.\n\n##### 9. Repeal and transitional provisions\n\n(1) The *Public Authorities (Contributions) Act 1974* is repealed.\n\n(2) Despite the repeal effected by subsection (1) —\n\n(a) the Bunbury Water Board is to transfer to the Consolidated Account, not later than 30 September 1997, 5% of the total revenue of that board for the year to 30 September 1996;\n\n(b) the Busselton Water Board is to transfer to the Consolidated Account, not later than 30 December 1996, 5% of the total revenue of that board for that part of its financial year that ended on 30 June 1996; and\n\n(c) section 3(2) and (3) of the repealed Act continue to apply for the purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b).\n\n[Section 9 amended: No. 77 of 2006 s. 4.]\n\n[**10.** Omitted under the Reprints Act 1984 s. 7(4)(e).]\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *State Enterprises (Commonwealth Tax Equivalents) Act 1996* and includes the amendments made by the other written laws referred to in the following table. The table also contains information about any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | | **Number and year** | | **Assent** | | **Commencement** | |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *State Enterprises (Commonwealth Tax Equivalents) Act 1996* | | 55 of 1996 | | 11 Nov 1996 | | s. 9 and 10: 1 Jul 1996 (see s. 2 and 3(3));    balance: 7 Jun 1997 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 6 Jun 1997 p. 2615) | |\n| **Reprint 1: The *State Enterprises (Commonwealth Tax Equivalents) Act 1996* as at 6 Aug 2004** | | | | | | | |\n| *Financial Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2006* s. 4 | | 77 of 2006 | | 21 Dec 2006 | | 1 Feb 2007 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 19 Jan 2007 p. 137) | |\n\n\n2 The provision in this Act amending these Acts has been omitted under the *Reprints Act 1984* s. 7(4)(e).\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nfinancial year 4\n\nincome tax 4\n\nsales tax 4\n\nState enterprise 4\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains focused on its original purpose of imposing tax equivalent payments on state enterprises. The 2006 amendment (No. 77 of 2006) was minor, only affecting section 9 (repeal and transitional provisions) regarding specific water board contributions. The core mechanism has not expanded beyond the original tax equivalent scheme."},"complexity_factors":["Only 4 defined terms in the interpretation section (section 4)","Heavy reliance on external Commonwealth legislation for key definitions (Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, Sales Tax Assessment Act 1992)","Simple conditional structure: obligation applies only if prescribed by regulations (section 6)","Short length (9 substantive sections, approximately 3 pages)","Minimal cross-referencing within the Act itself","Straightforward delegation of technical details to regulations and Treasurer's determinations"],"plain_english_summary":"This Western Australian law makes sure that government-owned businesses (like state-owned companies and statutory bodies) pay money to the state government that is equivalent to the income tax and sales tax they would normally pay to the federal government if they weren't exempt.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Creates a \"tax equivalent\" system**: State enterprises that are exempt from Commonwealth (federal) income tax and sales tax must instead pay equivalent amounts to the Western Australian Treasurer.\n- **Who it affects**: \"State enterprises\" — specifically companies and bodies established by law that qualify as \"State/Territory bodies\" under federal tax law. However, only those specifically named in regulations are actually required to pay.\n- **How it works**: The Treasurer sets the rules for calculating these payments, who assesses them, and when they're due. The Governor can make regulations to prescribe which enterprises are covered and handle transitional arrangements.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis ensures a \"level playing field\" between government-owned businesses and private businesses. Without this law, state enterprises would have an unfair advantage because they don't pay federal tax. The money goes into the state's Consolidated Account (the government's main bank account) rather than to Canberra.\n\n**Other bits:**\n- The law also repealed the old *Public Authorities (Contributions) Act 1974* (which required different contributions from water boards).\n- It has special transitional rules for the 1996/97 financial year, allowing it to apply retroactively from 30 June 1996 if needed."},"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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act replaces the prior Public Authorities (Contributions) Act 1974 with a tax‑equivalent regime: prescribed State enterprises must pay amounts equal to the Commonwealth income or sales tax they would have paid if not exempt (s 9; s 5(2)). Coverage is controlled by regulation (s 6(1)(a)) and the Treasurer controls assessment rules, assessors and payment timing (s 7(1)). Practically, who pays: prescribed State enterprises (s 5(1), s 6(1)(a)); who decides: Governor by regulation and the Treasurer by determinations and rulings (s 8, s 7); behaviour change: enterprises must calculate and remit tax‑equivalent sums and comply with Treasurer directions (s 5(2), s 7(3)). Transitional rules modify initial application for specified entities (s 3, s 9)."},"complexity_factors":["Delegated rulemaking: regulations determine which State enterprises are captured and may make transitional provisions (s 6(1)(a), s 6(2), s 8).","Administrative discretion: the Treasurer sets assessment principles, who makes assessments, payment timing and may issue directions and rulings (s 7(1)-(2)); enterprises must comply (s 7(3)).","Cross‑reference to Commonwealth law: the definition of “State enterprise” depends on Commonwealth income/sales tax exemption status, requiring coordination with federal classifications (s 4).","Mechanical calculation: the tax equivalent equals the hypothetical income or sales tax liability if the enterprise were not exempt (s 5(2)), which may require tax‑style assessments and accounting.","Transitional and repeal provisions: repeal of the prior contributions Act and specific transitional transfers for named water boards add one‑off compliance steps (s 9; s 3 for 1996/97 application)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act requires prescribed State enterprises to pay the WA Treasurer amounts equal to the income or sales tax they would have owed to the Commonwealth if they were not exempt. It matters because those payments replace direct Commonwealth tax exemptions with an internal, state-collected charge and create an ongoing compliance obligation for affected entities."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed — the legislative text was unavailable. No comparison between original intent and enacted provisions is possible based on the retrieved content."},"complexity_factors":["Insufficient legislative text available to assess true complexity","Only metadata and an error page were returned — no substantive provisions could be analysed","Score reflects the inability to evaluate the Act, not an assessment of its actual content"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act set rules for Western Australian government-owned businesses to make payments equivalent to Commonwealth taxes they would otherwise be exempt from, aiming to prevent tax-driven advantages. It affects state enterprises (utilities, transport authorities, etc.) and their private-sector competitors by promoting competitive neutrality and ensuring government businesses face similar fiscal obligations as private firms."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/state-enterprises-commonwealth-tax-equivalents-act-1996","history":"/api/acts/state-enterprises-commonwealth-tax-equivalents-act-1996/history","analysis":"/api/acts/state-enterprises-commonwealth-tax-equivalents-act-1996/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/state-enterprises-commonwealth-tax-equivalents-act-1996/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/state-enterprises-commonwealth-tax-equivalents-act-1996/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/state-enterprises-commonwealth-tax-equivalents-act-1996/documents"}}