Stamp Duty Abolition on Family Company Farm Transfers
Posted on September 22, 2017
On the 10th of August the State Government introduced a Bill in Parliament to abolish stamp duty on transfers of family farms by or to a family company.
This proposed stamp duty exemption adds to the existing exemption for transfers of family farms between individuals and family trusts. For the exemption to apply to a transfer by a company, the sole or principal business of at least one shareholder must be that of primary production. The exemption will only apply to family companies where each shareholder of the company is a “relative” of the other shareholders. “Relative” has the same meaning as applies to the existing exemption.
Without this new exemption, a stamp duty saving is only available where a farm is transferred to a shareholder in a voluntary liquidation of the company. This is a much more limited, protracted and expensive way of obtaining a stamp duty saving.
Business Simplification
This stamp duty exemption is part of the State Government’s second annual Simplify Day Bill designed to remove outdated laws and cut uncompetitive or unproductive processes that impact on business. It is part of the Government’s Red Tape Reduction Strategy focused on supporting businesses. Included in the proposed reforms are:
- The Construction Industry Training Fund levy threshold will be increased from $15,000 to $40,000 so that the levy will be removed on low value projects such as pergolas and renovations.
- There will be a set of Government funding rules and guidelines for the Not-for-profit sector.
- The Form 1 Vendor’s Statement for the sale of real estate will be reviewed by Consumer Business Services (CBS) with the view to streamlining and cutting red tape. CBS will review the form to improve the relevance of information and how it is disclosed.
- Opportunities to remove barriers to economic growth for “paddock to plate” small premium food producers will be identified and provided.
- 11 obsolete Acts will be removed from the statute books.
Please contact us if you would like any information or assistance with any of the above.
