Queensland 2% Foreign Land Tax Surcharge

The Queensland government last week introduced a 2 per cent land tax surcharge on foreign companies or trusts that own land in Queensland as of midnight on June 30. It will apply to any ”taxable land”, which covers all property classes, including residential, industrial, retail, office and freehold agricultural land. The surcharge will apply to the portion of the taxable value of the taxable land that is equal to or greater than $350,000. For foreign companies and trustees of foreign trusts that have landholdings with a taxable value of more than $5,000,000, the surcharge will apply in addition to the land tax rate increases applying to companies and trustees generally. Previously a 1.5% surcharge applied to individuals’ however the rate has now increased to 2% for individuals and expanded to include companies or trusts. Companies and Trusts owning property are expected to pass on the costs to tenants however this will be difficult for retail assets covered under Retail Lease legislation. Advice should be sought by prospective investors and managers to ensure that the ongoing costs of land ownership are well known.