Exceptions to landholder duty

Excluded interests are not taken into account when calculating landholder duty.

Private landholders

Excluded interests in private landholders include an interest:

• held by the person or a related person or both more than 3 years before the relevant acquisition. This does not apply if the relevant acquisition was made under an arrangement entered into at the time of, or in connection with, the acquisition of the interest
• acquired at a time when the landholder did not hold land in Queensland
• acquired before 1 July 2011 if, at the time, the corporation was not a land rich corporation under the previous land rich duty provisions.

Public landholders

Excluded interests in public landholders include an interest acquired:

• at a time when the landholder did not hold land in Queensland
• before 1 July 2011.

Landholder duty is not imposed on exempt acquisitions in certain circumstances.

Examples of exempt acquisitions include relevant acquisitions:

• for the sole purpose of changing a trustee
• solely in the person's capacity as liquidator
• solely because of the making of a compromise or arrangement with creditors approved under Part 5.1 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cwlth) where the Commissioner is satisfied that there is no intention to avoid duty
• that give effect to a distribution in the estate of a deceased person.

Example

Sally White acquires a 30% interest in a private landholder pursuant to the will of a deceased person. Sally—or a related person—buys another 50% interest in the private landholder. Together, these interests form a significant interest (80%); however, the 30% interest is an exempt acquisition. Landholder duty is only payable on the 50% acquisition.

Landholder duty may be reduced where duty is paid or payable under the Duties Act 2001 in the following circumstances:

• corporate trustee duty is paid or payable for land that was also taken into account in calculating landholder duty and both relevant acquisitions were part of one arrangement
• transfer duty is paid or payable on a trust acquisition (other than for a discretionary trust) for land taken into account in calculating landholder duty and both acquisitions were part of one arrangement
• transfer duty is paid or payable for a dutiable transaction involving marketable securities or an equivalent duty in another State and the dutiable transaction is a relevant acquisition
• mortgage duty is paid or payable on a transfer, or agreement for transfer, of shares made by way of security where landholder duty applies to the transaction.

Special transitional provisions apply to interests in a landholder acquired before 1 July 2011.

See section 624 of the Duties Act 2001 for more information.