The requirement that land comprises at least 60% of the assets of a company or unit trust will be removed.
Thus, from 1 July 2012, any company or unit trust holding Victorian land valued at $1,000,000 or more will be in the Land Holder Duty regime.
Accordingly, many companies and unit trusts previously outside Land Rich Duty will now be caught by Land Holder Duty and a Duty liability will arise on the transfer of shares in the company or units in the unit trust.
A duty liability equal to 5.5% x value of Victorian Land x proportion of company or trust acquired arises (in the case of a listed company rate is .55%) where a significant interest in the shares of a company, a listed company or a unit trust is acquired either at one time or over an extended time period:
| ( A significant interest is: | unit trust 20% |
| private company 50% | |
| limited company 90%) |
Conversion of a private company or trust to a limited company or public offer trust is deemed to be a 100% acquisition.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances. Madgwicks is a member of Meritas, one of the world's largest law firm alliances.
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