Legal Insights
Life Interests and Land Tax – Abraham v Commissioner of State Revenue [2026] VCAT 351
The Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) recently considered whether a widow (Applicant) held a life estate in possession in a holiday home, and if so, how that interest should be treated for Victorian land tax purposes. The decision highlights the importance of including appropriate provisions in a will, where the will provides a right to use or occupy a particular property.
Oliver Hume Decision: Victorian Landholders Duty Applies on Capital Raising based on “substantially one arrangement”
The Victorian Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Oliver Hume Property Funds (Broad Gully Rd) Diamond Creek Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue [2024] VSCA 175 has settled that, in Victoria, aggregation applies to the acquisition of shares or units by investors, even in circumstances where the investors are unrelated under the one syndication or capital raising process.