In a ground breaking win for property developers, a recent NSW
Court of Appeal decision found that land held for future
development but used for grazing, can be exempt from land tax.
The Court of Appeal's recent decision in CCSR v Metricon
QLD Pty Ltd (2016) affirmed the position that
property developers are entitled to rely on the exemption described
in s10AA of the Land Tax Assessment Act (1956) if
the land is being used for primary production.
The primary production exemption requires the dominant use of
the land to be for primary production. The Office of State Revenue
(OSR) has increasingly refused claims for the primary production
land tax exemption, for property which actually is used for primary
production, where the land is also held for future development. The
OSR's position is based on a view that the exemption does not
apply because the 'dominant use' of such land is for
'land banking' or 'land development', not for
primary production.
