Today the New South Wales State Revenue Office issued Revenue Ruling DUT 047 which confirmed that duty will be payable on the total consideration, including any amount on account of GST, even if the new GST withholding rules apply and the purchaser pays the amount directly to the ATO instead of paying the amount to the vendor.

The ruling confirms that the duty payable on the sale of real property will remain the same, regardless of whether the GST is required to be withheld by the purchaser and paid directly to the ATO or the GST is paid to the vendor at settlement as part of the settlement proceeds.

I would expect that each of the other State Revenue Offices will adopt the same position.