Two taxpayers have been unsuccessful before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal in seeking to have unpaid land tax written off under s 110 of the Tax Administration Act 1996 (NSW).
- The taxpayers purchased the property in November 2010 with the intention of making it their home.
- They planned to demolish the existing dwelling and construct a new one.
- From November 2010 to February 2011, the property was leased to relatives of a work colleague of one of the taxpayers who needed “short-term emergency accommodation”.
- The dwelling was then demolished in March 2011 and construction continued throughout that year.
- The taxpayers then moved into their new home in November 2011.
- The Commissioner assessed the taxpayers for land tax in the sum of $3,892 for the 2011 tax year.
Before the Tribunal, the taxpayers no longer sought to rely on the principal place of residence land tax exemption and on the related unoccupied land concession, or on hardship, but based their case solely on s 110. The Tribunal said the issue in the case was whether s 110 applied so as to empower the Commissioner, and by extension the Tribunal, to write off the whole or any part of the taxpayers’ unpaid land tax.
The Tribunal said the consideration of s 110 could not form the basis of the review as the Commissioner had made no decision concerning it. Even if the Tribunal had jurisdiction to apply s 110 in the case, the Tribunal said the taxpayer needed to show that the section’s requirements were satisfied. It added the only avenue now available to the taxpayers would appear to be an application to the Hardship Review Board.
(Loomes v Chief Comr of State Revenue [2014] NSWCATAD 133, NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Walker SM, 1 September 2014.)
[LTN 165, 27/8/14]