Receiving a Land Tax Assessment Notice can be expensive especially if the assessment is higher than expected.

This may cause you to pay particular attention to the value of the land used to assess land tax.  If you feel that the value of the land used to assess land tax is high, you will need to determine whether or not to lodge an objection against the value of the land used in the Assessment Notice.  To do this, you will need to be aware of the following:

  • You will need to be able to produce independent valuation evidence that the unimproved value of the land as at the date the unimproved value of the land was determined by the Valuer General was not fair, or was unjust, inequitable or incorrect. 
  • The Valuer General will then normally determine the unimproved value of land used to assess land tax for an assessment year on or around 1 August of the previous assessment year (remembering that land tax for a financial year is assessed against the owner of the relevant land as at midnight on 30 June of the previous financial year).  So for example, assume that on 1 August 2015, the Valuer General determines the unimproved value of certain land that is to be used for the 2016/2017 assessment year.  The Valuer General will value the land as at 1 August 2015 and then specify that this value will be the value of that land applicable as at midnight on 30 June 2016. This will ensure that this value will be used to assess land tax on the owner of the land (as at midnight 30 June 2016) for the 2016/2017 assessment year.  
  • Any objection to be lodged against the value of land used in an Assessment Notice needs to set out fully and in detail the grounds of objection and the reasons in support of those grounds of objection.  This means that appropriate independent valuation evidence and appropriate legal submissions need to be made to the Valuer General to demonstrate that the value of land used in the assessment was not fair, or was unjust, inequitable or incorrect.    
  • The objection must be served on the Valuer General or Office of State Revenue in WA within 60 days after the issue of the Assessment Notice.

If you require assistance in preparing your objection, please contact us.