Recently, the NSW Government announced a crackdown to identify people avoiding land tax. The focus seems to be on historic landowners who have not reported their landholdings to Revenue NSW. However, to yield the expected $100 million in the first year, the crackdown may also end up capturing some of the following:

• Farmland not eligible for the primary production land tax exemption
• Discretionary trusts not entitled to the land tax free threshold, and
• Foreign persons not paying the land tax surcharge.

Revenue NSW has offered an amnesty until 31 January 2020 for landowners to report their landholdings without incurring additional penalties. Landowners may be wise to review their potential exposures and consider taking advantage of the amnesty.