13/8/00
Building licence fees in Western Australia will not be increased directly or indirectly as a result of the GST.
Local Government Minister Paul Omodei said today he had sent a circular to all local governments to ensure they understood the application of the GST as it related to building licences.
He said there were two factors in the application of GST to building licence fees.
One was the GST on the fee itself and the other was whether the fee would be calculated on the value of the building before or after the GST was applied to that value.
There would be no GST added to the licence fee because it was one of the many GST-free taxes and charges gazetted by the Federal Treasurer on March 1.
The question whether the GST applicable to the cost of the house would be included in the value on which the building licence fee was calculated was a policy decision.
The Minister had determined that it would not be included and this decision had been gazetted.
Therefore, there would be no GST, direct or indirect, on the cost of a building licence.
Media contact: Hugh Ryan 9213 6700
