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Aruba: Exemption and refund of transfer tax

Dear client, Dear relation,

We hereby would like to inform you that last week an official Government announcement was published regarding an exemption and refund of transfer tax.

Exemption of transfer tax

An exemption applies if the legal transfer of an immovable property is made within 6 months after a previous legal transfer of the same immovable property. In that case the taxable base for the transfer tax is reduced by the taxable base of the previous transfer. The reason for this change is to prevent the cumulative effect of transfer tax.

Example

If for example you buy a house of Afl. 300,000, the transfer tax due is Afl. 10,500 (3% x Afl. 250,000 and 6% x Afl. 50,000).

In case this same house is sold again within 6 months for Afl. 350,000, the buyer will pay transfer tax over the difference. In that case, we are of the opinion that the buyer will pay 3% over the Afl. 50,000, resulting in an amount of Afl. 1,500 in transfer tax due.

Please note that the tax authorities might take the position that 6% transfer tax is due on Afl. 50.000 (Afl. 3,000), since the value of the house is more than Afl. 250,000. The regulation is not clear on this issue.

Refund of transfer tax

A refund of transfer tax applies if the situation prior to the transfer of an immovable property is restored in fact and in law as a result of the following:

  • the fulfillment of a resolutive condition which was part of the agreement
  • nullity or voidability
  • dissolution due to non-fulfillment of an obligation

In these cases, a request for a refund must be submitted within 3 months after the end of the calendar year in which the right to a refund arose.

In case of any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our tax team.