The Supreme Court has ruled on the question of whether the WOZ value should be assumed when valuing depositary receipts.
Housing
The Inheritance Tax Act stipulates that, for the purposes of inheritance and gift tax, homes must be valued at the WOZ value applicable for the year of death or gift. The WOZ value is the value that the municipality determines annually in a decree. For rented properties, an additional rule is that the vacant value ratio (LWR) must be used because the WOZ value is determined on the premise that the property is freely available.
Donation of certificates
In the case at the Supreme Court involved the father's gift of depositary receipts for shares in a BV to daughter. The BV's assets included a property portfolio, largely consisting of (rented) houses. The Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled that the value of these depositary receipts also had to be set at the WOZ value for the purpose of determining the value of the dwellings, taking into account the LWR.
However, the Supreme Court considered this interpretation of the Court of Appeal to be too broad: the valuation of depositary receipts for shares is not compulsorily based on the WOZ value and LWR of the (rented) houses that are part of the BV's assets. Subsequently, the Supreme Court adds that both the WOZ value and the LWR may be used as an aid in the valuation of the depositary receipts.
This seems to us a justified nuance by the Supreme Court. In the current situation, where the actual value of many homes is higher than the WOZ value, few will object to the value of (certificates of) shares being determined on the WOZ value. However, if there are substantial discrepancies, the Tax Administration may argue that the tool used should be corrected. If the WOZ value is higher than the economic value of the property, the acquirer of the inheritance or gift can do the same, with the reverse interest. If the legislator is of the opinion that, for example for the sake of simplicity, the WOZ value and LWR should be compulsorily used, it should just include it in the law.