The New Jersey Tax Court has held that transfers of unencumbered property between commonly owned legal entities, for nominal consideration, are not subject to the realty transfer fee. The court rejected the position taken by the Division of Taxation in its current regulations that such transfers are always subject to the fee and that the consideration should be measured by the assessed value of the property.
In Mack-Cali Realty, LP v. Taxation Div. Director, the taxpayer conveyed its unencumbered properties to its wholly owned limited liability companies in each case for consideration of $10. The taxpayer claimed that the transfers were not subject to the realty transfer fee because the statute specifically exempts transfers for consideration of less than $100. » Read the rest of this entry «