Property Owner Sues Over 20-Year Land Tax Error

0:00This is Cory with the story with Sydney News today, Powered by the Daily News Now. A property investor in New South Wales has been overpaying land tax for over 20 years because of a simple typing error in his property assessment. Theo Honours Faroo bought a row of four terrace houses on Crown Street and Surrey Hills back in 2001 for $1.91 million. The site is actually 297 square meters, but value New South Wales listed it as 597 square meters every year. Since, more than doubling the assessed land value, that mistake led to excess land tax payments and now Onus Faroo is suing the value or general in the Land and Environment Court to get about $1 million. Dollars back, including compound interest at 3.3%. Land tax hits investment properties above a $1.075 million threshold at 1.6% annually. The value or general corrected the size for this year, dropping the land value from $5.29 million to $3.3 million.

1:01But Onus Faroo argues it's still too high at around $2.6 million. Onus Faroo says the error is not his fault, yet he's stuck fighting a government body that won't admit the full overcharge. Officials claim property owners are responsible for checking sizes and the court might not fix past year's taxes, forcing separate claims. He warns other owners to double check their valuations. Meanwhile, other wealthy property owners are battling similar assessments. Billionaire Ian Maloof won a reduction on his Palm Beach House called Gidget from $15.9 million to $14.8 million. Though legal costs aid up to savings, these disputes highlight challenges in valuing high-end properties, with cases like a North Sydney office tower dropping from $90 million to $56 million, and ongoing fights over mansions in Point Piper by executives and miners. Experts note trophy homes often lack good sales comps leading to inflated figures. A message from our sponsor supports today's story.

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