VIC LAND TAX question - Victoria

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Mike Love

Well-Known Member
25 June 2014
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Hi,
My land tax bill just increased from $13,000 last year to $24,000 this year!
That is not my issue.

Land tax is based on the land value of the property. The State Revenue Office assess your land value as at the 31st December 2018.
They use the council valuations that are provided to them, which were conducted in January 2018.

SO, they charged us an amount based on an inaccurate valuation. (As values have since dropped)

Is this a legal arguement? Can someone please offer any insight?

Thanks for your help.
 

Rob Legat - SBPL

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16 February 2017
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This information is more applicable to Queensland, but I imagine it won't be too dissimilar in Victoria:

Land tax is based on the unimproved capital value of the property - not what most people consider to be the value. UCV is based on the 'inherent' value of the land without development or market pressures. If there has been any change in this, you should have received a valuation from the Valuer-General. It will be that figure which is used to calculate land tax. You may be already aware of this - stating it for certainty.

Land tax calculation is point in time. It sounds like Victoria is as at midnight on 31 December (Queensland is midnight on 30 June). It doesn't matter that values may have dropped or risen since - they'll be captured in the next calculation.

Next, land tax is calculated at a tiered rate based on the total value of properties owned. The more value in property owned, the greater the rate of land tax payable. It also appears that there is a surcharge for owning land in a trust in Victoria. This is then apportioned back out to the properties. So, it's not just one rate of tax per property. The overall pool can affect the land tax owed per parcel. Again, this is point in time so look at the total value of properties owned as at midnight on 31 December.

If you still think they're wrong, they should have some sort of appeal mechanism. But if they're anything like the Queensland Land Tax section, you'll have your work cut out for you.
 

Rod

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27 May 2014
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Is this a legal arguement?

No, however I no definitive information or resource to backup my answer. I just remember looking into this a few years ago and there was no way to convince the SRO to change their mind.

Keep in mind if you were to be successful in an appeal, what would stop them coming after you, or others, for the years when property values increased?