The Tribunal confirmed the vacant residential land tax assessments for the 2018–2020 and 2022 land tax years but varied them to remit penalty tax in full. The decision establishes that s 34B(1) of the Land Tax Act 2005 (Vic) requires an assessment of the actual habitability of any dwelling on the land at the relevant date; land with an uninhabitable dwelling is not necessarily 'capable of being used solely or primarily for residential purposes'. However, the onus remains on the taxpayer to adduce contemporaneous evidence of uninhabitability, and the applicant failed to discharge that onus on the facts — photographic evidence showed a furnished, apparently liveable dwelling throughout the relevant period. For the 2022 year, the Tribunal applied the Ferrington principles and found that extremely low utility usage was inconsistent with occupation as a principal place of residence, notwithstanding the applicant's hearsay explanations. The Tribunal has no jurisdiction to waive tax properly assessed or to review a hardship relief refusal.
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