D-day for land tax
High Court Acting Judge Collins Parker will pronounce himself on 7 July on the legal challenge to have the notice made by the land reform ministry that the provisional valuation roll for farmland is available for public perusal from 1 June to 1 July.
This follows an application to have it declared null and void. Kambazembi Guest Farm CC trading as Waterberg Wilderness approached the High Court with an urgent application to declare the notice to make the provisional valuation roll available for perusal at the said dates for landowners a nullity. In terms of the notice, sessions of the valuation court will be held between 10 August and 19 September at Grootfontein, Gobabis, Mariental, Keetmanshoop, Outjo, Otjiwarongo, Omaruru and Windhoek.
Landowners will during these sessions be able to object to the roll but they cannot object to the valuation of their land or the rate of land tax. The respondents in the matter are the ministers of land reform, finance and agriculture. The Land Reform Advisory Commission, the inland revenue commissioner, attorney-general as well as the valuation court are also listed as respondents. The applicants raised a constitutional challenge in August 2013 - which is still pending - highlighting that the National Assembly has the power and functions subject to the constitution to provide for revenue and taxation.
The violation of the constitution appears in the Land Reform Act in that it stipulates that land tax is imposed by the executive and administered by the executive and that dispute resolution too, is determined by the executive. “This is inconsistent with the rule of law and the constitutional separation of power,” said Reinhard Tötemeyer, who is representing Kambazembi Guest Farm CC in the matter. He argued that the executive branch of government and not the legislative branch, namely parliament, has controlled, determined, implemented and collected the tax. The rate of tax was allegedly last looked at in a parliamentary discussion in 2001. He further said the regulations of the Land Reform Act are inconsistent with the constitutional rule of law and the constitutional imperative of justice for all. According to the land reform regulations, notice must be given before valuations take place, and the government allegedly has not met this requirement.
“A notice must inform the public of something that is going to happen, not something has happened,” applicants stated in the filing statement. Tötemeyer said the history of the valuation roll is a story of sustained chaos.
He said the notice of inspection of the valuation roll published in October was withdrawn on 2 January 2013. Thereafter, it was rectified and materially amended and notice was given of inspection of the roll in July 2013 still bearing the date 1 April 2012.
According to him regulation three of the Land Reform Act determined a five-year period within which the general valuation is to be made and this commenced on 1 April 2012 and ends 31 March 2017. The valuation process had to commence after 25 May 2012 but was factually completed by 1 April 2012. The lawyer added that the permanent secretary of land reform in respect of withdrawal and repetition of the preparation of the provisional valuation roll offered an excuse.
“The reason why the provisional valuation roll of 2012 was withdrawn was that the valuation contained an error in that values of improvement were included in the taxable values,” the PS was quoted as having said.
He allegedly added that this was instead of being excluded as per requirements of the provisions of the regulations under Government Notice 120 of 3 July 2007. The applicant alleges that ten respondents abandoned the 2007 valuation roll and are attempting to rely on the 2012 provisional valuation roll.
FRED GOEIEMAN
This follows an application to have it declared null and void. Kambazembi Guest Farm CC trading as Waterberg Wilderness approached the High Court with an urgent application to declare the notice to make the provisional valuation roll available for perusal at the said dates for landowners a nullity. In terms of the notice, sessions of the valuation court will be held between 10 August and 19 September at Grootfontein, Gobabis, Mariental, Keetmanshoop, Outjo, Otjiwarongo, Omaruru and Windhoek.
Landowners will during these sessions be able to object to the roll but they cannot object to the valuation of their land or the rate of land tax. The respondents in the matter are the ministers of land reform, finance and agriculture. The Land Reform Advisory Commission, the inland revenue commissioner, attorney-general as well as the valuation court are also listed as respondents. The applicants raised a constitutional challenge in August 2013 - which is still pending - highlighting that the National Assembly has the power and functions subject to the constitution to provide for revenue and taxation.
The violation of the constitution appears in the Land Reform Act in that it stipulates that land tax is imposed by the executive and administered by the executive and that dispute resolution too, is determined by the executive. “This is inconsistent with the rule of law and the constitutional separation of power,” said Reinhard Tötemeyer, who is representing Kambazembi Guest Farm CC in the matter. He argued that the executive branch of government and not the legislative branch, namely parliament, has controlled, determined, implemented and collected the tax. The rate of tax was allegedly last looked at in a parliamentary discussion in 2001. He further said the regulations of the Land Reform Act are inconsistent with the constitutional rule of law and the constitutional imperative of justice for all. According to the land reform regulations, notice must be given before valuations take place, and the government allegedly has not met this requirement.
“A notice must inform the public of something that is going to happen, not something has happened,” applicants stated in the filing statement. Tötemeyer said the history of the valuation roll is a story of sustained chaos.
He said the notice of inspection of the valuation roll published in October was withdrawn on 2 January 2013. Thereafter, it was rectified and materially amended and notice was given of inspection of the roll in July 2013 still bearing the date 1 April 2012.
According to him regulation three of the Land Reform Act determined a five-year period within which the general valuation is to be made and this commenced on 1 April 2012 and ends 31 March 2017. The valuation process had to commence after 25 May 2012 but was factually completed by 1 April 2012. The lawyer added that the permanent secretary of land reform in respect of withdrawal and repetition of the preparation of the provisional valuation roll offered an excuse.
“The reason why the provisional valuation roll of 2012 was withdrawn was that the valuation contained an error in that values of improvement were included in the taxable values,” the PS was quoted as having said.
He allegedly added that this was instead of being excluded as per requirements of the provisions of the regulations under Government Notice 120 of 3 July 2007. The applicant alleges that ten respondents abandoned the 2007 valuation roll and are attempting to rely on the 2012 provisional valuation roll.
FRED GOEIEMAN
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