Background
A husband and wife lived in a property in Thornbury as their family home. The home had been in the wife’s name purportedly for asset protection purposes. They subsequently purchased a home in Ivanhoe, following which the wife transferred the Thornbury home to the husband for no consideration.
Issue
Whether the transfer was exempt under s 43 of the Duties Act 2000 (the Act) as there was ‘good reason’ for the Commissioner to exercise his discretion to vary (reduce) the 12-month residence requirement to 6 weeks.
Decision
On 8 December 2023, the Tribunal handed down its decision in favour of the taxpayer. It found, having regard to all the circumstances, that there was ‘good reason’ to exercise the discretion in s 43B to reduce the 12-month residence requirement to 6 weeks; particularly, as the failure to meet the residency requirement was due to a change in circumstances that was unforeseen at the time the Thornbury property was transferred.
