Estate and Gift Duties Amendment Act 1969

This commentary item was published in Public Information Bulletin Volume 42, September/October 1967

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Public Information Bulletin No. 53 — November 1969 (PIB No 53)

Estate And Gift Duties Amendment Act 1969

This Act incorporates in the law, the changes in the Estate Duty rate scale and in the reliefs for widows and widowers announced in the Budget.

Application of Act

Section 1 provides that the amendments will apply to the Estates of all persons dying on or after 26 June 1969.

Rates of Estate Duty and Reliefs

Sections 2, 3 and 4 amend the scale of Estate Duty and the reliefs. Briefly these changes, which have already been discussed in PIB No. 50 are, -

• The level at which an estate is exempt from duty on the final balance has been increased from $8,000 to $12,000.
• Reduced rates of duty apply where the final balance of the estate falls between $12,000 and $32,000.
• The relief for widows and widowers has been increased to $40,000 or the succession whichever is the lesser.

Exemption for Gifts to Vocational Training Council

Section 5 transfers the exemptions from Estate and Gift Duties enacted in the Vocational Guidance Training Act 1968 into the Estate and Gift Duties Act 1968. It does not alter the exemptions but ensures that all the exemptions from these duties are in the one Act.