1.5 Standard CPD Units

Land Tax Changes – The Consultation Proposals

In the 2019-2020 Budget the Treasurer announced "the government is also introducing targeted measures to crack down on individuals and companies who have reduced their land tax bills by setting up complex legal structures to avoid the land tax aggregation provisions of the Act:…”. Since then there has been constant media attention and comment about the proposed changes and their impact.

A Bill entitled the Land Tax (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2019 has now been released for consultation and discussion.

This presentation will describe more generally the proposed changes and in particular will describe and comment on:

• the provisions aggregating owner’s individual interests and providing for an allowance where an individual owner has also been taxed on joint holdings;
• the regime for the taxation of trusts (and their beneficiaries in some situations), including the difference in treatment between fixed trusts, unit trust, discretionary trusts, trust on trust holdings, deceased estates and constructive and implied trusts;
• the grouping of certain related corporations and the single corporation assessment rule that is contemplated;
• the changes to the rate scale including the new rate for trusts; and
• the notification regimes that are contemplated.