Queensland Consolidated Acts

PAYROLL TAX ACT 1971 - SECT 9

(1) Wages are liable to payroll tax under this Act if—

(a) the wages are paid or payable by an employer in relation to services performed or rendered by an employee entirely in Queensland; or

(b) the wages are paid or payable by an employer in relation to services performed or rendered by an employee in 2 or more States, or partly in at least 1 State and partly outside all States, and—

(i) the employee is based in Queensland; or

(ii) if the employee is not based in a State—the employer is based in Queensland; or

(iii) if both the employee and the employer are not based in a State—the wages are paid or payable in Queensland; or

(iv) if both the employee and the employer are not based in a State and the wages are not paid or payable in a State—the wages are paid or payable for services performed or rendered mainly in Queensland; or

(c) the wages are paid or payable by an employer in relation to services performed or rendered by an employee entirely outside all States and are paid or payable in Queensland.

Note—

Section 15A provides an exemption for wages paid or payable for services performed entirely in another country for a continuous period of more than 6 months.

(2) Subject to subsections (4) and (5), the question of whether wages are liable to payroll tax under this Act must be decided by reference only to the services performed or rendered by the employee for the employer during the month in which the wages are paid or payable.

(3) Wages paid or payable by an employer for an employee in a particular month are taken to be paid or payable in relation to the services performed or rendered by the employee for the employer during the month.

Example—

If wages paid in a month are paid to an employee for services performed or rendered over several months, the question of whether the wages are liable to payroll tax under this Act must be decided by reference only to the services performed or rendered by the employee in the month the wages are paid. The services performed or rendered in previous months are disregarded. However, the services performed or rendered in previous months are relevant to the question of whether wages paid in the previous months are liable to payroll tax under this Act.

(4) If no services are performed or rendered by an employee for an employer during the month in which wages are paid or payable in relation to the employee—

(a) the question of whether the wages are liable to payroll tax under this Act must be decided by reference only to the services performed or rendered by the employee for the employer during the most recent earlier month in which the employee performed or rendered services for the employer; and

(b) the wages are taken to be paid or payable in relation to the services performed or rendered by the employee for the employer in that most recent earlier month.

(5) If no services were performed or rendered by an employee for an employer during the month in which wages are paid or payable in relation to the employee or in any earlier month—

(a) the wages are taken to be paid or payable in relation to services performed or rendered by the employee in the month in which the wages are paid or payable; and

(b) the services are taken to have been performed or rendered at a place where it may reasonably be expected that the services of the employee for the employer will first be performed.

(6) All amounts of wages paid or payable in the same month by the same employer for the same employee must be aggregated for deciding whether the wages are liable to payroll tax under this Act.

Example—

If 1 amount of wages is paid by an employer in a particular month in relation to services performed or rendered in Queensland, and another amount of wages is paid by the same employer in the same month in relation to services performed or rendered by the same employee in another State, the wages paid must be aggregated as if they were paid or payable in relation to all services performed or rendered by the employee in that month. Subsection (1)(b) would be applied to decide whether the wages are liable to payroll tax under this Act.

(7) If wages are paid in a different month from the month in which they are payable, the question of whether the wages are liable to payroll tax under this Act must be decided by reference to the earlier of the relevant months.