Given the broad application of this regime (eg. deeming all vendors of real property to be foreign residents unless they produce a clearance certificate from the ATO) and its red tape implications for day to day transactions, there is an urgent need for the ATO to issue class variations for situations where there is no tax payable including:
• transactions attracting roll-over relief;
• transactions required to give effect to orders made by a Court;
• all or some transactions which are disregarded for capital gains tax purposes (e.g. main residences, transfers relating to family law matters etc.); and
• transactions where a secured creditor has an interest in the subject property and where all of the proceeds of sale are required to extinguish the vendor’s liability to the secured creditor.
This should be done before the regime commences operation on 1 July 2016.