The Taxation Legislation Amendment Bill (No 2) Bill 2014 (WA) was recently introduced into the WA Legislative Assembly.
It proposes to amend the Duties Act 2008 (WA) and the Land Tax Assessment Act 2002 (WA) to modernise the land tax exemption for primary producers following a government review.
The amendments propose that the primary production land tax exemption will apply, even when the primary produce is sold in a processed or converted state. For example, a primary producer who uses the land to grow grapes for the production and sale of wine, rather than the sale of grapes, would be eligible for an exemption. For “competitive neutrality reasons”, the exemption would apply to land used to grow the produce but would not apply to the portion of land used to process the produce.
Note that there are other amendments within the Bill.
The amendments are proposed to commence on 1 July 2014.
[LTN 215, 6/11/14]
Government Amendments to make relief retrospective
The WA Government said its amendments will retrospectively apply the secondary production amendments. It said that without the amendments applying retrospectively, a number of producers may receive significant tax bills for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 assessment years. Among other things, the WA Government said the amendments would provide the preferred policy position of the Government.
[LTN 225, 20/11/14]