Exemption - principal place of residence; use and occupation for entire six month period
Background
The applicant contended that the disputed land was exempt from land tax for the 2016 tax year because it was his principal place of residence (PPR) between 1 December 2015 to 31 January 2016 (a period less than six months) and he had not claimed any other land as his PPR for the 2016 year.
Decision
On 18 September 2019, the Tribunal decided in favour of the Commissioner and agreed with the Commissioner’s interpretation of s54(1)(a) and s54(2)(a) of the Land Tax Act. That is, in deciding whether or not land is a person’s PPR for a particular land tax year, those sections require an assessment of the use and occupation of the land for the entire six month period from 1 July to 31 December of the preceding year. Applying this, because the applicant was required to use and occupy the disputed land as his PPR continuously from 1 July 2015 to 31 December 2015 (i.e. for the entire six months) he did not qualify for the PPR exemption for the 2016 year.
