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remains in force until it is withdrawn by the trustee.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;
(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:
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.