The Berejiklian Government has introduced a Bill into the NSW
Parliament which may change the way surcharge purchase duty and
surcharge land tax applies to foreign developers.
If passed, the Bill will provide that foreign-owned developers
may be allowed a refund of the 8% purchase duty surcharge, and the
2% land tax surcharge, provided the land is acquired via a company
incorporated in Australia and the development project is completed
within 10 years. This represents a 5 year extension of the
development requirement.
The Bill also proposes an upfront exemption for qualifying
foreign-owned developers. This upfront exemption will require the
foreign developer to obtain pre-approval as an exempt transferee
and that approval must be in place when the liability for duty
arises. If pre-approval is not obtained, the foreign developer will
only be able to seek a refund of the surcharge once the project is
eventually completed and any requirements for exemption have
