York v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2023] NSWCATAD 270

Civil and Administrative Tribunal New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: York v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2023] NSWCATAD 270 Hearing dates: 4 September 2023 Date of orders: 19 October 2023 Decision date: 19 October 2023 Jurisdiction: Administrative and Equal Opportunity Division Before: S E Frost, Senior Member Decision: The assessment is confirmed. Catchwords: TAXES AND DUTIES – Land tax – Liability – Exemptions – Principal place of residence – Adjoining lots – Whether access is readily available between the lots in accordance with legislative requirements – Whether the site of a single residence – Whether a residence without an Occupancy Certificate is capable of being used for separate occupation Legislation Cited: Administrative Decisions Review Act 1997 (NSW) Land Tax Management Act 1956 (NSW) Taxation Administration Act 1996 (NSW) Cases Cited: Cecere v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2022] NSWCATAD 350 Cornish Investments Pty Limited v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue (RD) [2013] NSWADTAP 25 Texts Cited: None cited Category: Principal judgment Parties: Maximilian Donovan David York (Applicant) Chief Commissioner of State Revenue (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: N Gollan (Respondent)

Solicitors: Applicant (in-person) Crown Solicitor's Office (Respondent) File Number(s): 2023/00152477 Publication restriction: Nil

REASONS FOR DECISION

Summary 1. At the relevant time the Applicant owned two adjoining lots of land in suburban Sydney. He claims they were both exempt from land tax under the principal place of residence exemption. The Chief Commissioner accepts one, but not the other, was exempt. The question for the Tribunal is whether the exemption covers both lots of land. 2. I have concluded that the exemption does not extend to the second lot. These are my reasons.