Taxation of Land - Lesson 6 of 6

The final lesson in the Taxation of Land series brings the previous five lessons together through five real-world case studies drawn directly from practice. Sybrand van Schalkwyk (SVS Tax) walks through the messy, practical side of land tax advice — where good theory meets real client outcomes, including a few costly mistakes along the way.

Topics covered include: a farm subdivision funded by wetland protection lots and whether it amounted to a taxable "scheme"; a company structure that went wrong when a family home was inadvertently caught in the GST and income tax net; the evolving IRD position on bare trusts for parents helping children onto the property ladder; a GST registration decision that led to a drawn-out dispute with IRD; and a second-hand goods credit trap that nearly cost a purchaser dearly at settlement.

Practical, cautionary, and grounded in real files, this lesson is designed to help practitioners spot these issues before they become expensive problems for their own clients.