Financial institutions duty


Financial institutions duty was a duty levied by all Australian states and territories except Queensland on deposits to bank accounts, term deposits, and similar.
The tax was introduced in the different states on dates between 1982 and 1992. It was abolished in all states from 1 July 2001 as part of the package of reforms for the goods and services tax. The bank account debits tax was also abolished as part of this package.
The duty was a percentage of the amount deposited, but with a maximum tax per deposit on ordinary accounts,
For term deposit or short-term money market investments there was no limit on the duty per deposit. But for amounts of $50,000 or more and up to 185 days the duty was reduced by the number of days divided by 365; so, for example, was 0.0012% on a 73-day investment.
The duty was levied according to the state where the bank account was domiciled, not where the account holder lived. About $1 billion per year was being collected just before its abolition.

Legislation