Acquisitions of interests in a landholder will be exempt from duty under the landholder provisions in a number of circumstances, including:
- If the means by which a person acquired an interest would have resulted in no ad valorem duty being payable under Chapter 2 of the Duties Act 2000 (the Act) had the subject of the acquisition been a transfer of the land of the landholder to the person.
- If the interest was acquired by a person in his or her capacity as either a receiver or trustee in bankruptcy, a liquidator or an executor or administrator of an estate of a deceased person.
- If the interest was acquired solely as the result of the making of a compromise or arrangement with the landholder’s creditors under Part 5.1 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
- If the interest was acquired solely from a pro rata increase in the interests of all unit holders or shareholders of the landholder.
In addition to the above exemptions, the landholder provisions provide certain concessions from duty, including:
- Where a person acquires an interest in a landholder or an economic entitlement as a condition of providing finance and the Commissioner is satisfied that the relevant acquisition is effected solely for that purpose, the acquisition is not chargeable with duty, provided the interest is re-transferred by the person making the acquisition within 5 years.
- Where the Commissioner is satisfied that the application of the landholder provisions results in an anomalous duty outcome, the Commissioner may reduce the duty payable on a relevant acquisition to an amount not less than the duty that would be payable under Chapter 2 of the Act, had the subject of the relevant acquisition been a transfer of the land of the landholder to the person.
Please refer to ss. 89D, 89E and 89F of the Act and to Revenue Ruling DA-055v3 for more information about exemptions and concessions.