Sladen Thoughts

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A Guide To Understanding Land Tax: Part 4 Aggregation, Grouping and “Degrouping”

As discussed in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, land tax is levied on the total taxable value of land held by a taxpayer in a particular jurisdiction. Land tax is then levied on a progressive graduated scale. That is, the higher the value of land that you own the higher the rate of land tax you pay.

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A Guide to Understanding Land Tax: Part 5 Valuations

As discussed in this Land Tax Series, land tax is a state and territory tax levied on the total taxable value of land held by taxpayers in particular jurisdictions. Land tax is assessed on a calendar year basis on the land you own at midnight on 31 December.

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Windfall Gains Tax - legislation released – certain concessions granted

In line with the 2021/22 Victorian Budget announcements and following targeted consultations with various stakeholders, the Victorian Government has recently tabled a Bill to introduce the windfall gains tax - Windfall Gains Tax and State Taxation and Other Acts Further Amendment Bill 2021 (Bill).

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Taxpayer Alert TA 2021/2 – undeclared foreign income – ATO declares war

In 2014, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) undertook the high-profile amnesty – Project DOIT – that allowed Australian taxpayers to voluntarily disclose (undeclared) offshore income in return for a range of ATO administrative concessions on the period-of-review, penalties, and shortfall interest.

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Lotus Oaks Part 1 – Primary production land tax exemption - principal business is farming requirement

The recent Supreme Court of Victoria decision of Lotus Oaks Pty Ltd as trustee for the Bozzo Family Trust v Commissioner of State Revenue [2021] VSC 388 is significant as it provides further clarification on the application of the primary production land tax exemption for land located in greater Melbourne in an urban zone. This is part one in a series of three articles on this decision.

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Lotus Oaks Part 2 – Primary production land tax exemption “of the type” requirement

Part 2 of our series decision of Lotus Oaks Pty Ltd as trustee for the Bozzo Family Trust v Commissioner of State Revenue [2021] VSC 388 looks at the former requirement in section 67 of the Land Tax Act 2005 (Vic) (Act) which required the principal business of the Bozzo FT to be of the type carried on on the subject land.

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Advanced Holdings – Full Federal Court reiterates to read the trust deed!

The Full Federal Court decision in Advanced Holdings Pty Limited as Trustee for The Demian Trust v FCT [2021] FCAFC 135 highlights important principles of trust deed interpretation and the limitations of statutory provisions concerning the evidentiary force of company records.

It also serves as a “sobering bookkeeping reminder” to directors of small companies and corporate trustees to keep good records, and as always, read the trust deed!

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ATO to apply a more lenient approach to SG penalties

The super guarantee (SG) amnesty ended on 7 September 2020. The SG amnesty allowed employers to disclose and pay previously unpaid SG charge, including nominal interest, for the quarters between 1 July 1992 to 31 March 2018 without incurring the administration component or Part 7 penalties. In addition, payments of SG charge made to the ATO under the amnesty were tax deductible to the employer.

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