What do the world's largest rocking horse, a polo club and a giant ferris wheel have in common?

Australia’s leading tax depreciation specialists, BMT, have revealed a list of the unusual landmarks and structures which have generated additional cash flow for their owners through the use of tax depreciation schedules.

The world’s largest rocking horse in South Australia, the Sydney Polo Club, and the iconic Melbourne Star “Observation Wheel” are just some of the unique landmarks and items for which tax depreciation claims have been made to uncover savings.

“Servicing a large range of commercial property owners across Australia has meant working with some unique, and sometimes unusual, buildings in the process,” said BMT Chief Executive Officer, Brad Beer.

“Many people would be surprised by some of the plant and equipment inside these buildings which qualify for tax depreciation deductions, allowing their owner to claim back significant amounts when lodging their tax return.”

The Big Rocking Horse in South Australia, as an example, stands over 18 metres tall and attracts around 300,000 visitors each year who take photos and climb up its multiple viewing platforms.

Though most non-residential buildings erected before 1982 are not eligible to claim capital works deductions, the owners of the Rocking Horse, constructed in 1981, were able to claim on much of the plant and equipment which comprised the unusual structure.

According to BMT, there is a common misunderstanding amongst property investors that older buildings won’t qualify for any depreciation deductions at all.

“We hear investors tell us time and again that they never considered making depreciation claims due to the age of their building, however even in the case of older buildings, there can still be many pockets of savings due to the depreciation of plant and equipment items,” said Brad Beer.

Similarly, owners of Melbourne Star’s 120-metre tall Observation Wheel were able to claim on a number of the fixtures inside the Ferris wheel’s pods which passengers ride to take in the 40 kilometre-plus views.

The horse stalls and shelters, dams, pumps, silos, fencing and plethora of other horse-related paraphernalia were also claimed by owners of the Sydney Polo Club, which has previously hosted The Bachelor contestants and assorted visiting royalty.

BMT believes many property owners and investors remain unaware of the extent to which they might be able to claim depreciation on the plant and equipment assets in their own buildings, and offers a solution.

“We welcome any commercial owners or residential investors wishing to better understand what they might be entitled to claim to contact BMT for a free preliminary estimate of likely depreciation deductions,” concluded Brad Beer.