Tax payable on investment property

Three types of Taxation should be considered in regards to the purchase or sale of a property in Australian taxation laws that affect Australian investment property purchased by non-residents. They are:

The Australian Income Tax year runs from 1st July to the 30th June of the following year.  Accordingly, where you purchase a property during the period 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008, your Australian Income Tax Return will be in respect of the 2007 financial year. 
Property investments can be held by individuals, partnerships, joint ventures, unit or discretionary trusts and companies. 
1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008 Rates of income tax applicable to non-resident individuals are as follows:

Where a non-resident individual makes a loss for Australian income tax purposes, this loss will be carried forward until the individual makes sufficient Australian income to absorb these losses.
The use of companies can become quite complicated and further advice should be sought prior to using a corporate structure.

Capital gains or losses are recognised when you dispose of all or part of an asset acquired on or after 20th September, 1985.
These capital gains and losses are aggregated (with certain exceptions) and tax is levied on any resulting "net capital gain". A net capital loss must be carried forward and offset against capital gains in subsequent years (i.e. a capital loss cannot be set off against revenue income). The rate of the tax that applies to a capital gain depends on the amount of your other taxable income. As a result your exact circumstances need to be considered before the rate of tax that applies to the capital gain can be determined.
Capital gains tax concessions have recently been introduced which allow for 50% of the calculated capital gain to be tax-free where the property has been held by an individual/s for more than twelve months.
Caution:  A change of residence status can result in a deemed acquisition or disposal of world-wide assets under Australian capital gains tax legislation.  Therefore, the sale of any worldwide asset may give rise to a capital gains tax liability.  Accordingly, capital gains tax implications need to be considered before a change of residency status occurs.
You should take positive steps to ensure that any assets you acquire are accurately recorded. This will allow you to calculate any capital gains tax on disposal.
Remember to record the following details:
the date of acquisition and disposal of the asset;
the amount paid for the asset;
any incidental costs of acquisition or disposal of the asset (e.g. legal fees, commission, stamp duty, advertising, etc.);
date and amount of any capital improvements to the asset.
Any holding costs, such as interest, rates, land tax, insurance, etc, (but only if these have not been claimed as a tax deduction).

Land Tax is annual tax levied by the Victoria State Government upon the total of the unimproved value of land owned by individuals as at midnight 30 June. For non-residents no land tax is payable if the total unimproved value of land is less than $225,000 for 2008 and $250,000 for 2009.