Land Tax Management Act 1956
For the Land Tax Management Act these changes effect:
Principal place of residence exemption
The amendment clarifies the application of the principal place of residence exemption to land comprised of 2 or more lots or 2 or more strata lots. In order to qualify for the exemption:
a) the lots must be adjacent or, in the case of strata lots, must have adjoining walls or floors, and
b) the lots must be owned by the same person or, if any of the lots are jointly owned, the lots must all be jointly owned by the same persons, and
c) the lots must be the site of, or comprise, a single residence.
The rules will not prevent a part of the land from being used for the purpose of an occupancy in addition to that of the owner if it is permitted under the existing rules relating to the principal place of residence exemption (see clause 4 to Schedule 1A to the Act). However, in the case of land comprised of 2 or more strata lots, the additional residential occupancy must be located on a lot that is also used and occupied by the owner of the land for residential purposes.
The rules will not prevent a strata lot that is ancillary to a residence (such as one used as a garage) from being claimed as being subject to the principal place of residence exemption.
Concession for multiple-occupancy land
The amendment will allow a land tax concession to be applied in respect of land owned by one person that does comprise more than one residential occupancy. (This may include land that is excluded from the principal place of residence exemption by the amendments referred to above). The concession, which is similar to the concession that applies to mixed used land, will allow land tax to be assessed on the basis of that proportion of the land that is used for a separate residential occupation to that of the owner.
Land exempted from tax
The Land Tax Management Act 1956 contains a land tax exemption for land that is the site of a building used and owned by a non-profit association for the purposes of that association.
The amendment clarifies that, if the building contains strata lots, each strata lot is to be regarded as separate premises for the purposes of the exemption (and the exemption applies if the premises are used and owned by a non-profit association for the purposes of that association).
Other amendments
a) remove the general distinction in the Land Tax Management Act 1956 between flats and single dwellings. The distinction is only relevant to the mixed use land concession in sections 9C and 9D (where it is preserved). The amendments ensure that the concession for additional residential occupancies under the principal place of residence exemption is capable of applying to any flat that is a separate dwelling from a person’s principal place of residence.
