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Land transfer duty – Acquisition of economic entitlements in relation to land (service fees)

Land transfer duty – Acquisition of economic entitlements in relation to land (service fees)

12/09/2022

The State Revenue Office of Victoria (SRO) recently released a draft Ruling on the operation of the economic entitlement provisions contained in the Duties Act 2000 (Duties Act). Our experts look at whether the guidance provides clarity for the property industry and investors.

On 30 August 2022 the State Revenue Office of Victoria (SRO) released a draft Ruling on the operation of the economic entitlement provisions contained in the Duties Act 2000 (Vic).

Draft Ruling DA.065 Acquisition of economic entitlements in relation to land (service fees) formalises the guidance previously published on the SRO website in relation to arrangements potentially dutiable under these provisions.

Much of what was previously published is contained in the draft ruling, however the ruling does include some further examples. There is still some significant uncertainty as to the operation of the provisions and further clarity in some instances would be helpful prior the ruling being finalised. The SRO are accepting comments in relation to the draft ruling up until 28 September 2022.

Economic entitlement provisions

Broadly, the economic entitlement provisions will apply where there is an arrangement in relation to land (with an unencumbered value that exceeds $1,000,000) under which a person has an entitlement:

  • to participate in the income, rents or profits derived from the land
  • to participate in the capital growth of the land
  • to participate in the proceeds of sale of the land
  • to receive any amount determined by reference to any of the above matters
  • to acquire any entitlement described above.

The provisions are broadly drafted and paragraph IV as it is currently worded has the potential to apply to any ‘fee’, ‘interest’ or other amount that is calculated by reference to the income, profits, rents or proceeds of sale derived from the development of the land.

The draft ruling highlights the intention of the provisions to impose duty on arrangements where a person, without acquiring an ownership interest in land, effectively obtains rights and benefits relating to the land that are economically equivalent to ownership interests. Labelling an amount as a ‘fee’ or ‘interest’, or something else, will not avoid the economic entitlement provisions if they otherwise apply

Outcome of draft ruling

The information previously published on the SRO website broadly details situations and examples which may commonly arise with respect to land dealings and provides guidance on whether the economic entitlement provisions would apply.

The draft Ruling builds on this guidance and considers two issues:

  • whether ordinary fees for service may amount to an economic entitlement; and
  • circumstances where an acquisition of a share or unit may amount to an economic entitlement despite not attracting landholder duty.

Fee for Service

The draft Ruling states that fees may be tied to the proceeds associated with land and/or its development but not amount to an economic entitlement. This is the case where third party service providers receive ‘genuine industry fees’ for service.

Examples include:

  • real estate agents, including executors and trustees of deceased estates – whose fees are based on the proceeds of sale of land
  • architects – whose fees can include a percentage of building costs
  • project managers – whose fees can include a percentage of project value. Payment of the fees cannot be contingent on / calculated by reference to the performance of the project/development
  • planning consultants – whose fees can include a percentage of the value uplift after a precinct structure plan is obtained
  • private advisory firms – that may receive a contingency fee for assisting a landowner to take their land to market or negotiate transaction documents
  • lenders and financiers – who receive interest for providing finance to a development. The interest/fee cannot be tied to the performance of the development. An example of such an arrangement is a standard loan facility with interest at market rates.

The Ruling follows on to provide that there is no need to lodge or pay duty where a person provides a ‘genuine’ service in relation to land and:

  • is normally engaged in a full-time capacity in providing those services
  • the agreed fee/rate is within industry parameters, and
  • the person is unconnected (i.e. not an associated person) to any other person who has an economic entitlement in relation to the land.

Limitations of the ruling

Whilst the examples provided have been included to avoid confusion, it is our view that more clarity is still required as the ruling does not articulate the principles which are being applied by the Commissioner in the examples.

In some examples the conclusion is that the fee is not an economic entitlement, however it is not clear whether this is because those examples actually fall outside the definition of an economic entitlement in the first place. For example, an architect who charges fees on a percentage of building costs does not actually acquire any entitlement to participate in the income, rent or profits derived from the land. Similarly, financiers who are entitled to interest calculated on the loan advanced do not have an entitlement to participate in the income, rent or profits derived from the land. In these circumstances, it is irrelevant whether the fees are “genuine” and within “industry parameters”.

In addition, the draft Ruling provides no guidance as to what are ‘genuine’ fees or whether a ‘fee/rate is within industry parameters’. Industry parameters cover a broad range and depend upon multiple factors.

Acquisition of a share or unit.

The draft Ruling states that:

The economic entitlement provisions contained in Chapter 2 of the Act can also apply to acquisitions of shares in companies and units in unit trust schemes that may be outside the scope of the landholder provisions in Chapter 3 of the Act. As a result, a liability may arise under Chapter 2 where no liability would arise under Chapter 3 because the interest acquired is below the relevant acquisition threshold. However, this would only occur where the acquisition of units, shares or other security interests entitle the holder to participate in the income, rents or profits, capital growth or proceeds of sale from particular land held by the entity.

The ruling provides an example where specific classes of units might be dutiable under the economic entitlement provisions, although not dutiable under the landholder provisions (as the interest acquired is below the relevant acquisition threshold). The ruling states that the economic entitlement provisions would only apply where the shareholder/unitholder is entitled to participate in the income, rents or profits, capital growth or proceeds of sale from particular land held by the entity. Where shareholders/unitholders are entitled to income/proceeds etc. that are general in nature and not specific to a particular land held by the entity, the economic entitlement provisions would not apply.

The example provided in the ruling is somewhat artificial as it involves the creation of a new class of units issued to a potential investor who wants to acquire one of the shopping centres (Property A) held in the Trust, but not through a conventional purchase. The new class of units entitles the investor to 100% of the new income, rents and profits associated with one of the properties and entitlement to the trust’s property upon wind up to the extent that the value of Property A bears to the total value of both properties.

It is our view that the anti-avoidance provisions contained in the landholder provisions should apply to such arrangements. The economic entitlement provisions should have no application to the issue of units and shares. Although the rights to dividends and capital of a particular class or units or share may be determined by reference to returns from a particular property or a particular pool of assets, the dividend or capital payments are not an entitlement to participate in the income, rent or profits derived from the land or capital growth (except in very unique circumstances).

How we can help

Whilst the ruling somewhat builds on the previous information published on the SRO website, it still does not provide the guidance needed by the property industry to understand what arrangements would be captured by the economic entitlement provisions. This unfortunately means that taxpayers seeking certainty will need to seek a private ruling from the SRO.

SW is currently involved in a number of submissions, so please reach out to the team if you have questions, comments or feedback.

Contributors

Robert Parker, Consulting Director, Tax

Carmelin De Francesco, Senior Manager, Tax

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