Tax Files: Kyren nominees: The commissioner's power to disregard minority interests in land

Before amendments to the Land Tax Act came into effect on June 30, 2008, it was possible (and indeed common) for parties to minimise their land tax liability by allocating minority interests in land (typically up to 1 per cent) to related parties. This would ensure that each parcel of land had a separate 'owner' for the purposes of assessment of land tax, thereby avoiding aggregation and the resulting higher marginal land tax rates.