A municipality refused to issue an approval document for the purpose of registration and transfer of land rights at the Land Registration Office on the grounds that the property owner sold its rights in a haste to a public organization (exempt from betterment levy) days before a city building plan entered into effect in order to evade payment of betterment levy.
The Court held that the effective date of a betterment levy is 15 days after publication of the notice at the official records regarding the approval of the program. In this case, because the agreement was executed 11 days prior to the effective date no betterment levy liability applies to the seller and the liability for betterment levy applies to the purchaser, who will be liable for it in the future at the date of selling of the land. The fact that the purchaser is entitled to an exemption from payment of betterment levy and that the seller used the time granted by law to its advantage in order to avoid tax payment is a legitimate tax planning. Therefore, the Court ordered the municipality to issue the approval document for the purpose of registration of transfer of land rights