Posts Tagged ‘taxes’

eBay exec slams proposed GST for goods purchased online

Friday, August 1st, 2014
Photo courtesy of Ryan Fanshaw on Flickr

Photo courtesy of Ryan Fanshaw on Flickr

Applying the GST to online purchases under $1,000 isn’t fair for people who cannot afford to travel outside the country to buy cheaper goods, an eBay executive has said.

While in Sydney for a meeting with the G20 taskforce that is looking at ways to reduce trade barriers — including taxes imposed on online sales — head of eBay’s government relations, Tod Cohen, said enacting the GST on purchases below $1,000 would turn sites like eBay and Amazon into tax collectors.

NSW Treasurer Mike Baird has pushed hard for lowering the GST threshold for online purchases and has talked about taxing global online sales above $20.

“Any time you get down to that type of threshold, you’re discriminating against Australians who can travel and those who can’t travel,” Cohen says.

“We try to maintain an opportunity for people to participate in the global marketplace and one of quickest ways to shut that down is by imposing taxes. There’s no way they’ll drop the threshold for international travellers. We’re not going to see duty-free shut down.”

Cohen says $1000 was a ­reasonable threshold, given the threshold in the United States was $800 and Europe was about the same.

To read the full story, click here.

Australia Business Review gives an overview of hurdles for Australia startups

Monday, October 7th, 2013

The Australia Business Review has revealed the top three hurdles for small businesses in Australia to overcome to be successful.

Photo credit; Tristan Honscheid on Flickr

Photo credit; Tristan Honscheid on Flickr

1. In top spot is the challenge of cash flow and getting the necessary cash injection to start a business. Banks are less willing to invest in small businesses nowadays so it’s important to manage resources responsibly.

2. Navigating the Australia Tax Office (ATO) is the second most common hurdle for small businesses. Discrepancies that result from honest mistakes, and failure to comply with the many tax regulations can all lead to small businesses falling foul of the ATO.

Under current Fringe Benefits Tax laws, a company can find the ATO looking at it disapprovingly if it spends too much on an employee social gathering, while different types of tax have different tax years, leading to a lot of paperwork and confusion.

Thorough and meticulous bookkeeping and some time spent reading and grasping all the regulations are necessary navigate the ATO.

3. And, lastly, the Carbon Tax can be a pain for new businesses, especially those wanting to do their own production.

Under the scheme, companies considered as top polluters must pay a fee per tonne of carbon released into the atmosphere.

In addition to businesses that have a production arm, it also affects small businesses in terms of the rising cost of the supplies they need.

The carbon tax will be scrapped eventually, but it will be replaced by an emissions trading scheme. New start-ups will need to keep an eye on that, and allow for its effects upon their running costs.

To read more on this story, click here.

Small Business Assist Tool could help you with your tax inquiries

Wednesday, August 14th, 2013
The Australian Tax Office’s (ATO’s) Small business assist  tool provides answers to small business tax and other questions.
The online tool delivers accurate information sourced from a range of websites.
You can find information about:
  • registering for an Australian business number
  • understanding and registering for GST
  • employer obligations
  • lodging activity statements and much more.
Small business assist can be accessed from a range of devices and features links to relevant webinars and provides access to blogs and forms.

To read more about this story, click here.