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An individual has been successful before the Victorian Civilnand Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) in seeking the principal place of residencenland tax exemption for his home located in Shoreham, Victoria, despite being an“world-traveller” whose wife lives overseas.
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In 2003, the taxpayer was left the property in Shoreham in hisnmother’s will. After moving into the property, he continued his interest ofnoverseas travel, meeting and marrying his now wife, who continues to live innCanada. Broadly, for each of the five tax years in question, the taxpayer spentna couple of months in Australia at the property, with the balance spent mostlynin Canada and other overseas destinations. He submitted that he considered thenShoreham property his “home”, where he kept “all his personal treasures”, amongnother things. He also noted “significant and communal family ties” in Victorian(including his three children and eight grandchildren in Melbourne) andn“financial ties” to Australia.
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In finding in favour of the taxpayer, VCAT said that in thisnday and age people are far more mobile than in the past, and it is notnunreasonable that someone would have a base at a particular place to which theynintend to return and resume occupation. In this regard, the Tribunal was of thenview that the land tax exemption applied to the taxpayer’s circumstances.
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TIP: Land tax regimes differ from state tonstate. Please contact our office for assistance or more information.
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Important: Clients should not act solely on the basis of the material contained in Update. Items herein are general comments only and do not constitute or convey advice per se. Also, changes in legislation may occur quickly. We therefore recommend that our formal advice be sought before acting in any of the areas. This update is issued as a helpful guide to clients and for their private information.