ALIA and the GST

As a national association, ALIA cannot afford to ignore the implications of new taxes. The Association does not have a position on a GST per se. We have adopted the position that any tax reform proposal must be assessed on its merits.

Since the beginning of this year we have been monitoring media and government reports in order to prepare for the impact of new tax proposals announced in advance or as part of the 1998 election campaign. What follows is a summary of the steps that we have taken to date and what is proposed for the immediate future.

June 2001: Good news about tax!
Just as librarians have weathered the impact of the GST, at last comes some new good news about the new tax system. From 1 July 2001, financial institutions duty (FID) and stamp duty on quotable marketable securities (SDQMS) are abolished.

To understand how this affects you and your library, read ALIA's summary by Colette Ormonde, or download the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's GST news for business 18: No more financial institutions duty [link no longer found on ACCC website].

Or, to order a print copy, write to the ACCC, PO Box 1199 Dickson 2602,

July 1999
We published an analysis of GST and libraries in a member's brief, 'The bubbles, the salad and the cooked chook' [see link alongside]. The Australian Taxation Office has been consulting industry associations across Australia in relation to dissemination of tax reform information. A link to their website is included here as a reference point for all inquiries - though you will need to navigate to the 'business' pages from this URL. The ATO will also have an e-mail address under the 'contacts' heading that can be used for further information.

January 1999
Submission to Senate Select Committee on a new tax system [also linked from this page]

[24 September update - report now published - see link on this page]

September 1998
Following the announcement on 30 August of an election to be held on 3 October the government went into caretaker mode which means that government officials are no longer involved in providing advice about the tax package. We have decided therefore to undertake and actuarial analysis of the impact of the proposed GST on public libraries. Virginia is in the process of getting quotes from two accounting firms to undertake this work and expect that the exercise will be concluded by mid-September. The expected outcome of conducting such a study will be that we will be able to quantify the impact of a GST. We will be able to accurately estimate the additional costs which could be imposed. We will also be able to indicate how corporatised library services will fare compared with other public library services. We may need to undertake some similar research on libraries on other sectors - a decision that we will make when the first stage is completed.

August 1998
With the announcement of the tax package on 13 August we undertook a more detailed analysis which raised a number of questions. In the first instance we addressed those questions to the government officers operating the hotline set up for this purpose. None of our questions was answered and the follow-up promised by the officers failed to materialise. Subsequently we raised these questions in a letter to the Treasurer on 25 August, copies of which were also sent to other relevant ministers, shadow ministers and leaders of other political parties. This letter sets out the broad range of our concerns and we especially encourage our members to use the issues raised in this letter in their advocacy efforts.

To date we have received only one response - an acknowledgment from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

On 12 June, Virginia Walsh wrote to twenty-seven senior librarians across all states and territories asking for their views on the possible impact of a GST on their library operations. We received some extremely valuable feedback (Directline, September 1998) which we have used in subsequent correspondence with the Government and for further research.

On behalf of our organisation and with the agreement of ALIA General Council, Virginia Walsh wrote, in June, to the treasurer, the ministers for communication and the arts, education and regional development, territories and local government, the opposition leader and shadow ministers for relevant portfolios and other parties, noting the impact that the tax reform agenda may have on the library and information sector. The replies we received from government ministers all acknowledged the importance of libraries but, as expected, did not give any undertakings about how libraries might be protected from adverse cost impacts.

June 1998
Staff at the ALIA National Office completed an analysis of the possible impact of a GST on libraries and undertook some comparative analysis of the results of similar taxes overseas.