Lendlease flags $112m tax bill dispute
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The news: Property developer Lendlease has flagged a large tax bill from the Australian Taxation Office related to the sale of its retirement living business to Dutch pension giant APG Asset Management.
The numbers: The company said it received an amended tax assessment for FY18 totalling $112.1 million including $62.4 million of capital gains tax, $25.2 million additional tax for the sale of 25% of the units in the retirement living trust, plus $24.5 million of interest.
Lendlease shares were down 3.2% to $6.08 in early trading on the ASX.
The context: The developer said it was confident of its position and would dispute the assessment of the company’s tax arrangements for the year.
It comes after the company proactively contacted the ATO to review the tax treatment applied to the 2018 sale eight months prior to submitting its tax return and also obtained independent advice before lodgement.
Lendlease said it had not yet received amended assessments for two further sales of holdings in the retirement business, but if the ATO did seek to make further findings it could be exposed to a further $50 million in tax plus interest.
The source: ASX announcement
