South Australian Current Acts

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LAND TAX ACT 1936 - SECT 12

12—Land tax for fixed trust if beneficial interests notified to Commissioner

        (1)         A trustee of a fixed trust to which land is subject may lodge with the Commissioner a written notice of the beneficial interests in the land.

        (2)         A notice must be in the form, and contain the information, determined by the Commissioner.

        (3)         A notice takes effect, at the option of the trustee (which must be specified in the notice), for the tax year in which the notice is lodged or for the following year, and remains in force until it is withdrawn by the trustee.

        (4)         Despite subsection (1), if a trustee withdraws a notice that is in force under this section in respect of a fixed trust, the trustee cannot lodge another notice under this section in respect of that fixed trust.

Note—

For changes to beneficial interests see section 13D(6)

        (5)         If a notice is in force under this section for a fixed trust, the following provisions apply:

            (a)         a beneficiary of the trust is deemed, for the purposes of this Act (other than a residential land exemption), to be the owner (but not to the exclusion of the trustee) of land subject to the trust that bears the same proportion to the whole of the land subject to the trust as the beneficiary's beneficial interest in land subject to the trust bears to the total beneficial interests in land subject to the trust, and is liable for land tax on that land accordingly, together with any other land owned by the beneficiary, assessed in accordance with section 8A(1) at the rates set out in Schedule 1 Part 2;

            (b)         however, if any land—

                  (i)         constitutes the principal place of residence for all of the beneficiaries of the trust; and

                  (ii)         would, if it were owned by a natural person, be wholly or partially exempted from land tax under a residential land exemption,

the beneficiaries are deemed to be the owners of the land for the purposes of the residential land exemptions;

            (c)         the trustee is liable for land tax on the whole of the land subject to the trust assessed, in accordance with section 8A(1) at the rates set out in Schedule 1 Part 2, as if the land were the only land owned by the trustee.

Note—

If the beneficiaries are exempt from land tax under paragraph (b), the trustee will also be exempt because the effect of the residential land exemptions is to render the land exempt from land tax.

        (6)         Subject to subsection (7), there is to be deducted from the land tax payable by a beneficiary under subsection (5)(a) an amount (if any) necessary to avoid double taxation, being the amount determined by the formula:

1936.2318.un03.jpg

Where—

"A" is the proportion of the beneficiary's beneficial interest in the land subject to the trust to the total beneficial interests in land subject to the trust

"B" is the total amount of land tax assessed on the trustee under subsection (5)(c).

Note—

The deduction is applied to the total land tax assessed for the beneficiary and not just to the land tax assessed for the land subject to the trust.

        (7)         If a deduction under subsection (6) would result in a negative amount—

            (a)         zero is to be substituted for that amount; and

            (b)         the amount of the difference between that amount and zero will not be credited to any liability for land tax under this Act.

        (8)         Subsection (5)(a) does not apply to a beneficiary who holds a beneficial interest as trustee of another trust.

Note—

Section 13B(1)(a) deems such a person to be the owner of land.

        (9)         For the purposes of this section, a reference to a fixed trust does not include a public unit trust scheme.



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