Joel is their elder brother of Jeremy. Joel is an IT manager in a public listed company while Jeremy is a Financial Controller of a private limited company. Both of them had an intention to purchase a piece of land where they can construct a house thereon for living when they retired. In 2013, they saw an advertisement in a newspaper concerning a piece of land for sale. After much consideration, they decided to buy that piece of land. In order to pay for 80% of the cost of the land, Joel withdrew part of his cash savings from his approved retirement fund, EPF, while Jeremy utilized his own savings. The remaining balance of 20% was financed jointly by them with a 25-year bank loan obtained from a bank. Four years later, an interested buyer, who was in the fruit selling business, wanted to buy that piece of land for the planting of fruits. However, both Joel and Jeremy turned down the offer. Instead, they rented it out for a period of two years. After the expiration of the tenancy agreement, one part of the land area was used to plant fruits for own consumption. In August 2021, they sold off the said piece of land and made a huge profit. The proceeds were used to pay off the remaining bank loan as well as to pay for Joel’s children's education overseas. This was their first real estate transaction as they had not engaged with any such similar transaction before.

Required: 

Using badges of trade, determine and provide with reasons whether the profits from the disposal of the land is subject to income tax. (Ignore the Real Property Gains Tax).

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

In order for Joel and Jeremy to build a retirement home on another piece of land they had to sell th... View the full answer