Govt to review financial sector levies

Chris Bowen

The Australian financial services industry will pay more in levies to be regulated in the new financial year with the Government having announced increases in the Financial Sector Levy Rates.

However, the good news from the financial services sector is that the Government has undertaken to examine the methodology on which the levies are based consistent with concerns expressed by the industry.

The Assistant Federal Treasurer, Chris Bowen, announced the new levy rates this week, which will see no change to the restricted minimum and maximum levy rates but increases in the unrestricted rates.

Announcing the changes, Bowen said that in the current financial year the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority was planning to collect $107.9 million to fund its levy-related activities and those of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Taxation Office.

He said the levy rates for the current financial year were consistent with the averages for levies over the last four years, but did not benefit from the large return of over-collected levies from previous years that had occurred last financial year.

“During consultation on the new rates a number of organisations raised policy issues regarding the methodology,” Bowen said. “In light of these views and because the methodology has not been changed for some time, I intend to examine the levy methodologies within the next two months.”