Newsletter
March 2014 Newsletter
Tax bill for transfer of land to joint development trust
A taxpayer (the trustee of a trust) has been unsuccessful before the Federal Court in arguing against a capital gains tax bill following a transfer of land it owned to a “joint venture trust”. The transaction took place in August 1998 and the amount in dispute totalled some $7.6 million. The joint venture trust was set up to facilitate commercial development of the land owned by the taxpayer as well as adjacent land owned by other owners.
The taxpayer argued that there was no change in the beneficial ownership of the land and that there should therefore be no tax liability on the transfer. However, the Court held that the transaction was taxable and that the exceptions to the tax liability as argued for by the taxpayer did not apply in the circumstances. The Court also affirmed the Tax Commissioner’s decision to impose an administrative penalty at the rate of 25% of the tax shortfall.