The Luxury Car Tax (LCT) is a tax within the Australian taxation system, collected by the Australian Taxation Office on behalf of the Australian Government.
LCT is payable by businesses which purchase or import luxury cars, unless the business' Australian Business Number (ABN) number is quoted in the correct format to the supplier or Customs.
LCT is charged in addition to the Goods and Services Tax (GST), but it is not payable on the full price of the vehicle. LCT is only payable at the rate of 33% (up from 25% as of 1 July 2008, though no senate approval for this increase was obtained) of the value of the GST-exclusive value which exceeds the LCT threshold. The LCT threshold is currently $59,133.00 AUD (for the 2012-13 financial year). An increased threshold of $75,375.00 AUD applies to fuel efficient cars that have a combined fuel consumption rating not exceeding 7 litres per 100 kilometres (based on a combined test cycle rating under ADR81).
LCT is reported on an organisation's Business Activity Statement at labels 1E and 1F. An organisation is not required to complete the LCT section of their BAS when they have elected the GST Instalment Option as LCT is included in this amount. Organisations which report and pay GST annually are only required to report LCT on their annual GST return (GSTR)
Businesses are only permitted to quote their ABN when the vehicle is used for the following purposes:
- Exporting the vehicle in circumstances where the export is GST-free
- Conducting research or development for the vehicle's manufacturer
- Holding the vehicle as trading stock (not including for rent or leasing purposes)
The LCT becomes due and payable when you on-sell the luxury car or stop using it for a quotable purpose. This might happen if you hold a car as trading stock and start using it for private purposes or if it becomes a capital asset of your business.
Read more about Luxury Car Tax: LCT Statistics
Famous quotes containing the words luxury, car and/or tax:
“The great majority of men, especially in France, both desire and possess a fashionable woman, much in the way one might own a fine horse—as a luxury befitting a young man.”
—Stendhal [Marie Henri Beyle] (1783–1842)
“The car as we know it is on the way out. To a large extent, I deplore its passing, for as a basically old- fashioned machine, it enshrines a basically old-fashioned idea: freedom. In terms of pollution, noise and human life, the price of that freedom may be high, but perhaps the car, by the very muddle and confusion it causes, may be holding back the remorseless spread of the regimented, electronic society.”
—J.G. (James Graham)
“People buy their necessities in shops and have to pay dearly for them because they have to assist in paying for what is also on sale there but only rarely finds purchasers: the luxury and amusement goods. So it is that luxury continually imposes a tax on the simple people who have to do without it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)