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Land Tax - Avoid costly and complex disputes |
"Normally, objecting to a land valuation is pointless unless you commission an independent one." Disputing a land tax assessment can be a complex and expensive business, and costs can be disproportionate to the amount in dispute. |
Undaunted, a taxpayer might want to dispute the basis of a land tax assessment, or the underlying valuation of the land on which an assessment is based. If the former, an objection can be lodged with the Office of State Revenue; if the latter, with the Valuer General. |
More often than not, land tax disputes involve taxpayers seeking to exempt land from land tax because of the principal place of residence exemption. Examples that have gone to court include whether a married couple could claim two principal residence exemptions, whether adjacent strata title lots owned by the one taxpayer were both exempt from land tax, and the significance of absence from a principal place of residence. |
The allowance of the primary production exemption is another problem. For example, land used for training polo ponies was held to be exempt, though in some instances such an activity might be viewed as a hobby. |
Objection against a land tax assessment must state grounds of objection and be lodged within 60 days of service of the assessment, or such later time as the Chief Commissioner allows. If disallowed, the taxpayer may appeal within further time limits. |
Land owners or rate-paying lessees can lodge objections to a notice of valuation with the Valuer General. Broadly speaking, the grounds upon which objections can be made are limited to the value of the land, faulty descriptions of the area or its dimensions, apportionment of values between people holding different interests or a claim that the person named in a notice is not the owner or lessee of the land. |
The Valuer General requires valid supporting evidence with any objection, though this is not legally required. However, it is obviously in a taxpayer's interest to provide the best possible information to tr y to have an objection allowed. |
In practice this is not easy. Normally, objecting to a land valuation is pointless unless the land owner is prepared to commission an independent one. The Valuer General always seems to distinguish the valuation from any information a taxpayer might provide, such as comparable sales. |
A decision can be appealed to the Land and Environment Court. If you have a land tax problem, contact your solicitor about how to resolve the dispute in the most cost-effective manner. |
