The ‘economic entitlement’ provisions are unique in Victoria. Pursuant to the amendments to the legislation as part of the Victorian 2019/20 budget, from 19 June 2019 these provisions now apply to impose duty where an economic entitlement is acquired in relation to Victorian land and any Victorian landholding entity.

The State Taxation Acts Amendment Bill 2019 (Vic) has received royal assent on 18 June 2019. Following this, the measures outlined below will take effect from 19 June 2019

The 2019 Victorian budget contained a sleeper in the form of the amendments to the Victorian economic entitlement provisions.

The Victorian 2019/20 State Budget was announced yesterday, with positive wins for Regional Victoria. The proposed measures contain an increase in taxes for foreigners holding property in Victoria, as well as measures broadening the application of land transfer (stamp) duty.

In Parts 1-4 of this series, we discussed the landholder duty provisions, with a particular focus on Victorian landholder duty. In this part we continue to delve into the complex landholder provisions, with a focus on the principle of an acquisitions of economic entitlement.

The Supreme Court of Victoria has recently handed down the first decision interpreting the ‘economic entitlement’ provisions in the Duties Act 2000 (Vic) (Duties Act). These provisions were introduced in 2012 as part of the shift from a “land rich” to a “landholder” model for assessing duty in Victoria on the acquisition of interests in certain land owning entities.