Antony Catalano reckons his Byron Bay block is worth $3.8m. The NSW Government says that’s $6.2m too low
While recovering in rehab, the Melbourne businessman is taking legal action against the NSW government to save himself $100,000 a year in property taxes.
Melbourne business tycoon Antony Catalano, the co-owner of 169 newspapers and news websites, is trying to get the NSW Government to slash a tax bill for his future Byron Bay home.
Mr Catalano is disputing in court a $10 million official valuation of a large, empty block he owns between Wategos Beach and the Cape Byron Lighthouse, an area considered one of the most desirable coastal locations in NSW.
The land is worth $3.87m, Mr Catalano said in a legal filing with the Land and Environment Court, which oversaw negotiations between his lawyers and representatives of the NSW Valuer General on Thursday.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.He wants to merge it with another block and create a large house for himself and his nine children at a total cost of around $55m.
If Mr Catalano is successful in court, his land tax bill will be cut from $156,616 to $44,820 this year, based on a NSW Government online tax calculator.
The former chief executive of the Domain property-marketing website stepped down from management positions in his private businesses two weeks ago after being charged with assaulting his wife, Stefanie Catalano, at their Melbourne apartment on March 12.
He has not entered a plea and is free on bail awaiting a court appearance scheduled for May 11. The couple have separated, according to a person who knows them both.
Valuation ‘too low’
Mr Catalano is well known in Byron Bay as the owner of Raes on Wategos, an up-market hotel at the other end of the beach from his empty block at 1 Julian Place.
Local real estate agent Ian Daniels said he had “never seen anyone win” a court case against the Government over land tax, which is charged on investment properties.
“The valuer general’s valuation would be low,” he said. “You can’t buy any block of land for $10 million in Wategos. Not even a bad one.”
Mr Catalano’s lawyers at the Arnold Bloch Leibler law firm argued the irregular shape of the land, which is partly covered by a rain forest, means he can only use 50 per cent of the block.
Because Aboriginal artefacts have been found on the land, which is part of a Native Title claim, a local Aboriginal group would have to approve the construction of house too, the lawyers said.
In a court filing, the NSW Valuer General denied any Aboriginal artefacts had been found on the block and said the Native Title claim was extinguished when it was sold. It said the valuation was based on how much the land would likely sell for, and cited a nearby house and block less than half the size of Mr Catalano’s that sold for $16 million in 2024.
Mr Catalano has entered a rehabilitation facility, according to his previous publicist, and could not be contacted for comment.
He is building a $112 million apartment block complex on the site of a former backpackers hostel in Byron Bay too.
Separately, The Australian reported Friday that Mr Catalano and his then wife, Shara Catalano, were sued by his parents in 2011 over a $150,000 loan they said was not repaid.
Court documents indicate the dispute was settled and the lawsuit withdrawn, according to the paper.
In 2019, Mr Catalano and business partner Alex Waislitz bought Australian Community Media, which includes the Canberra Times and Newcastle Herald in its stable, from Fairfax Media, and made investments in other media companies, including what is now a 7.5 per cent stake in Southern Cross Media Group, which owns The Nightly.
