PROPERTY TAX � RECENT CASES

Abstract

Property tax is levied on immovable property and the person for the time being who is capable of receiving the rent should be the one paying tax. There is no longer a question of justifying property tax but rather justifying the amount collected and the parts of the property to be assessed. Other than adopting the most appropriate valuation method, the valuer has also the need to understand the provisions in the Property Tax Act according to the facts of each individual case.

By virtue of Section 2(2) of the Property Tax Act, machinery affixed to the land is to be excluded if it satisfies the three conditions stated therein. . With that provision, it has been held that pipelines outside the boundaries of the taxpayer’s property are not to be assessed for property tax purposes and this has greatly affected the taxability of the distribution networks running across the entire island. Legislation from a few countries has been studied to look into their statutory provisions on the rateability of electricity and gas plants and their distribution networks.

From the discussion on the two recent cases of the floating docks and the first district cooling plant, this dissertation centres on the study of the issues arisen from the provisions of the Property Tax Act in valuing the specialised properties for and the implications affecting similar properties for property tax assessments.