Property owners having financial hardship over land tax could seek delayed payments, the Commissioner for ACT Revenue, Gordon Faichney, announced yesterday.
Mr Faichney said, “”Taxpayers wishing to discuss this further should contact the revenue Office on 2070126 or 2070107 before the due date to avoid automatic penalty charges and recovery action.
“”The penalty charges, calculated monthly at 20 per cent per annum would be charged on unpaid tax from August 16 and on the 16th of each month thereafter until the tax was paid.”
Mr Faichney clarified a statement by the Landlords Association that it thought the penalty interest ran from July. He made it clear that it ran from August 16.
As it happens the due date in the legislation (August 15) falls on a Saturday this year, so presumably people will have to pay on the 14th.
Many landlords have complained recently about unforseen consequences of the land tax hitting people who are not residential-property investors: widows living in the family home that under a will is in the children’s name; families living in a house in the name of a trust or company; a woman property owner having to accompany her husband on a posting.
Some have received appeal rejections from last year at the same time as assessments for this year.
The ACT Government has said it will look at unforseen consequences of the law. Some people in the real-estate industry and in legal circles have suggested a stamp-duty amnesty for people to regularise arrangements made decades ago to avoid death duty, bankruptcy and family law. However, it understood the Government is wary that by eliminating anomalies it might create new loopholes.