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February 2006
Victorian Land Tax Reminder for SMSF trustees
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 Lawyer in Profile  Bernie O'SullivanPartner of Maddocks Phone: 03 9288 0555 Bernie specialises in all areas of superannuation, managed investments, trusts and estate and business succession planning. Before joining Maddocks Bernie was a senior associate in the Melbourne office of Mallesons Stephen Jaques. Prior to this he was State Manager, New South Wales, for a major trustee company. Bernie has a unique combination of extensive practical experience in the marketing and sale of financial and trust services as well as a thorough understanding of the legislation underpinning such services. Bernie specialises primarily in superannuation and managed investments and succession planning and trusts. Bernie advises leading financial institutions, statutory trustee companies, superannuation fund trustees, accountants, financial advisers and high net worth individuals. Bernie is secretary of the ASFA Compliance Discussion Group (Victoria), a member of the Taxation Institute of Australia's Education Committee (Victoria), chair of the Securities Institute of Australia's Graduate Diploma taskforce 'Risk Management and Estate Planning'. He is a lecturer and examiner for the Securities Institute and presents extensively for the Taxation Institute of Australia, Financial Planning Association and Australian Society of CPA's on topics such as superannuation, business and estate succession planning and trust law developments.  
In December 2005 ClearLaw summarised the newly introduced Victorian Land Tax regime. Although SMSFs are excluded trusts, SMSF trustees holding Victorian land must still lodge a form with the State Revenue Office by 31 March 2006.
The new Land Tax Act 2005 (New Act) came into effect on 1 January 2006. You will recall that the New Act:
The surcharge in respect of Victorian taxable land does not apply, however, in respect of land held by complying superannuation funds, as these constitute "excluded trusts". Practitioners should be aware, however, that just because these trusts are excluded, the trustees must still notify the SRO that the land is held in a trust by 31 March 2006. SMSF trustees must still, therefore, lodge a "Notification of Lands Held on Trust" form, which form allows the trustees to notify the SRO of the category by which the land is excluded from the surcharge rate. Trustees of trusts holding land as at 31 December 2005, and which are not excluded, then have until 30 June 2006 to make any nominations (in the case of discretionary trusts) or notifications (in the case of fixed and unit trusts) that they deem necessary.
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