Considering buying OTP apartment in QLD. The contract says that any land tax unpaid at settlement must be paid by the seller. To me, that should be the end of it, land tax will be paid by the seller at settlement, and after settlement I will own a lot that will only have a very small proportion of the land content, and this will be under the threshold for having to pay land tax. So no land tax for me.
But then the contract goes on to say that land tax will be calculated for apportionment purposes on the basis that, as at the previous 30 June, the seller owned no land other then the land this development sits on. The land tax for apportionment purposes for the lot will be based on the interest lot entitlement for the lot.
If land tax is apportioned like this for each lot then depending on number of lots and land value, it could come to several thousand $ for each lot.
Not sure why it's going on about apportioning land tax when clearly the lot will only account for a small portion of the land content and this will be well under any land tax threshold (I won't own any other land). I've seen OTP contracts from other developers in the past and these land tax clauses seem fairly standard.
Does this seem fair, that individual lot owners become liable for land tax at settlement? I'm thinking about asking to have that clause removed from the contract.
But then the contract goes on to say that land tax will be calculated for apportionment purposes on the basis that, as at the previous 30 June, the seller owned no land other then the land this development sits on. The land tax for apportionment purposes for the lot will be based on the interest lot entitlement for the lot.
If land tax is apportioned like this for each lot then depending on number of lots and land value, it could come to several thousand $ for each lot.
Not sure why it's going on about apportioning land tax when clearly the lot will only account for a small portion of the land content and this will be well under any land tax threshold (I won't own any other land). I've seen OTP contracts from other developers in the past and these land tax clauses seem fairly standard.
Does this seem fair, that individual lot owners become liable for land tax at settlement? I'm thinking about asking to have that clause removed from the contract.