16Vendors of land

16 Vendors of land (1) For the purposes of this Act, the vendor of land under a contract of sale of land is deemed to be the owner of the land (but not to the exclusion of any other person) until— (a) the purchaser has taken possession of the land; and (b) subject to subsection (3), at least 15% of the purchase money has been paid. (2) Subsection (1) applies whether or not the contract of sale has been completed by the transfer of the land. (3) The Commissioner may determine that the vendor is deemed not to be the owner of land despite the fact that 15% of the purchase money has not been paid if the Commissioner is satisfied that— (a) the contract of sale was made in good faith and not for the purpose of evading the payment of land tax; and (b) the contract of sale is still in force. (4) In determining the percentage of purchase money that has been paid, the following amounts must be considered to be unpaid purchase money— (a) all money owing by the purchaser to the vendor and secured by a mortgage over the land; (b) all money lent to the purchaser by the vendor; (c) all money owing by the purchaser to any other person that is directly or indirectly guaranteed by the vendor. (5) If the vendor and the purchaser are both deemed to be the owners of land under this Part, there is to be deducted from any land tax payable on the land by the vendor any land tax payable on the land by the purchaser. S. 16A inserted by No. 83/2009 s. 7.