Telstra will also liaise on an ongoing basis with the ACCC to resolve any customer issues or concerns which may be raised through the Commission. Through the issue of this Public Statement Telstra seeks to provide a positive assurance to customers that price exploitation will not occur. Telstra will be striving to ensure that the transition to the new GST environment is as smooth as possible for its customers. When such variations are made, this statement and any supporting material will be updated to reflect the changes. Full details about these benefits and other GST price changes will be announced by Telstra in early June.
Local calls represent about a third of the typical residential customer's total bill.
Many small and medium business customers will further benefit by claiming input tax credits, effectively reducing their cost of a standard untimed local call to 20 cents. This announcement follows a series of pricing initiatives we have undertaken to offer benefits to our customers. The Government has introduced the ABN in response to the Small Business Deregulation Task Force report, which called for a single identifier to simplify business dealings with government. The ABN will also be available to State, Territory and local government regulatory bodies to streamline registration requirements. The Registrar of the ABR is the Commissioner of Taxation.