Tasmania Grant (Flour Tax) Act 1935

Tasmania Grant (Flour Tax) Act 1935

This short piece of legislation does one specific thing: it provides monthly financial assistance payments from the Commonwealth to the State of Tasmania, tied to a tax on flour that was in force at the time.

What does it actually do?

• Monthly payments to Tasmania: The Commonwealth agreed to pay Tasmania £4,300 per month (four thousand three hundred pounds — a significant sum in 1935 terms) for as long as the flour tax remained in force under two related Acts (the Flour Tax Act (No. 1) 1934–1935 and the Flour Tax Act (No. 3) 1934–1935).
• Payments start January 1936: The grant period began on 7 January 1936.
• Pro-rata rule: If the flour tax was only in place for part of a month, Tasmania only received a proportional share of the £4,300 for that month — not the full amount.
• Replacing an older payment: A separate payment Tasmania had been receiving under the Wheat Growers Relief Act 1934–1935 was stopped for any period covered by this new grant, so Tasmania couldn't be paid twice for the same period.
• Funding source: The money comes from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (the Commonwealth's central pool of public money), which this Act formally authorises ("appropriates") for this purpose.