The Vent and Rant Thread

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by SneakySnake

bluddy ATO! IAS is due, and I can't get into the portal!

"unexpected server error" The bluddy phone lines are all jammed! ...

Not sure what all those acronyms are but I sympathize...

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Not sure what all those acronyms are but I sympathize...

ATO = Australian Taxation Office = The Taxman
IAS = Instalment Activity Statement = Regular love letter to the above

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

ATO = Australian Taxation Office = The Taxman
IAS = Instalment Activity Statement = Regular love letter to the above

Thanks for the translation.

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Thanks for the translation.

Kinda like our (U.S.A.) quarterly estimated tax payments methinks!

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

ATO = Australian Taxation Office = The Taxman
IAS = Instalment Activity Statement = Regular love letter to the above

Still no clue what you're talking about...

It's much simpler here. You fill in a form, submit it before april first, and by may, watch the money arrive on your bank account

[dreams]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Still no clue what you're talking about...

It's much simpler here. You fill in a form, submit it before april first, and by may, watch the money arrive on your bank account

Wait... you mean you GET money? Here we fill out a form, submit before April 15, and SEND money with it.

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by dreams

Wait... you mean you GET money? Here we fill out a form, submit before April 15, and SEND money with it.

yeah! like that!

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Still no clue what you're talking about...

It's much simpler here. You fill in a form, submit it before april first, and by may, watch the money arrive on your bank account

That's the way it is for most folk here - the PAYE (Pay As You Earn) lot. Your tax (and Medicare levy) is taken from your paypacket and submitted by your employer directly to the government. A relatively simple (online) tax return is submitted every year (after the 30th June), and, as you say, assuming you've deductions or other positive adjustments, the money is deposited into your bank account.

The self-employed, self-funded (eg. retirees living on investment), et cetera, submit returns, and are, or may be, required to submit quarterly amounts and returns (PAYG - Pay As You Go). Plus there's Business Activity Statements for...well, businesses, which self-employed folk have to deal with, for instance. Self-funded retirees, like myself and TL1, have to deal with PAYG. It's crap for individuals, because it's really set up for businesses...as per the newsletters the ATO sends me, telling me about new small business news, and hints and tips. Their website helps you as a (small) business. It's hard to find simple information that relates to individuals just earning retirement income from investment (such as simple term deposits).

[insert rant about ATO keeping PAYG addresses separate from Annual Return addresses, and blaming me for not keeping the former "up to date" despite calculating my PAYG based on my most recent Annual Return]

As with most government operation, it caters well for the norm', and poorly for any variation from it. Thankfully, I've always found speaking to the ATO to be very good. Despite reputation, they've always gone well beyond just plain "helpful", and seemed to always try to get the best outcome for me (whether calling as an individual, on behalf of someone, or on behalf of my employer).

[insert second rant about the ATO Online Annual Tax Return software requiring MS Windows, despite being out for the last eleventy billion years]

Cheers,
Marc

[SneakySnake]

And even if their bluddy lodging portal is down. I bet we get in trouble for late lodgement of the Activity statement. We have to tell them every month how much tax we have deducted from the staff wages, and send them the money. So when they do their tax returns after 30th June, they can get some of it back, or in my case usually send them some more bluddy money.

I thought there was an E-Tax for Mac?

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by dreams

Wait... you mean you GET money? Here we fill out a form, submit before April 15, and SEND money with it.

It's the same as Marc says. We pay in advance. It gets deducted from your monthly salary. And every year you can get something back if you have deductions (which we have, in the form of a house, for instance, mortgage paymens are tax deductible here).

Originally Posted by montsnmags

That's the way it is for most folk here - the PAYE (Pay As You Earn) lot. Your tax (and Medicare levy) is taken from your paypacket and submitted by your employer directly to the government. A relatively simple (online) tax return is submitted every year (after the 30th June), and, as you say, assuming you've deductions or other positive adjustments, the money is deposited into your bank account.

The self-employed, self-funded (eg. retirees living on investment), et cetera, submit returns, and are, or may be, required to submit quarterly amounts and returns (PAYG - Pay As You Go). Plus there's Business Activity Statements for...well, businesses, which self-employed folk have to deal with, for instance. Self-funded retirees, like myself and TL1, have to deal with PAYG. It's crap for individuals, because it's really set up for businesses...as per the newsletters the ATO sends me, telling me about new small business news, and hints and tips. Their website helps you as a (small) business. It's hard to find simple information that relates to individuals just earning retirement income from investment (such as simple term deposits).

[insert rant about ATO keeping PAYG addresses separate from Annual Return addresses, and blaming me for not keeping the former "up to date" despite calculating my PAYG based on my most recent Annual Return]

As with most government operation, it caters well for the norm', and poorly for any variation from it. Thankfully, I've always found speaking to the ATO to be very good. Despite reputation, they've always gone well beyond just plain "helpful", and seemed to always try to get the best outcome for me (whether calling as an individual, on behalf of someone, or on behalf of my employer).

[insert second rant about the ATO Online Annual Tax Return software requiring MS Windows, despite being out for the last eleventy billion years]

Cheers,
Marc

Ahh, the same as here then. It's easy for the people with a regular job and contracts, but more difficult for the self-employed or smaller companies...

We often get the required papers around the start of februari, you have to submit before april 1st (at least, if you want your money in may). But don't try to call at the end of march, you'll have to wait in line for hours... Every year it's the same. Website slow as the stuff you find in certain creeks (you know, the ones you're always stuck on without a paddle), call centers overrun...

We generally have it all filled out and submitted by the start of march... You should think people will start earlier, instead of one week before the deadline...

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by SneakySnake

...

I thought there was an E-Tax for Mac?

Not unless they're planning to introduce it this year. Currently the software is not available until the 1st July, so I don't know.

I've had to dual boot my iMac to process my Return in the last couple of years. I'm now planning on installing Parallels, for other reasons I haven't had before - the only reason I've needed Windows is for the Tax Return - so that might make it easier.

I believe the ATO do supply other software tools that work on Windows and Mac (and Linux).

Cheers,
Marc

[SneakySnake]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Not unless they're planning to introduce it this year. Currently the software is not available until the 1st July, so I don't know.

I've had to dual boot my iMac to process my Return in the last couple of years. I'm now planning on installing Parallels, for other reasons I haven't had before - the only reason I've needed Windows is for the Tax Return - so that might make it easier.

I believe the ATO do supply other software tools that work on Windows and Mac (and Linux).

Cheers,
Marc

Geeze. I would just get the paper tax pack from the newsagent and do all the calcs in excel. Then add notes about e-tax not working on your computer. They hate processing paper tax returns!

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by SneakySnake

Geeze. I would just get the paper tax pack from the newsagent and do all the calcs in excel. Then add notes about e-tax not working on your computer. They hate processing paper tax returns!

You can't even do them on paper anymore here!

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by SneakySnake

And even if their bluddy lodging portal is down. I bet we get in trouble for late lodgement of the Activity statement. We have to tell them every month how much tax we have deducted from the staff wages, and send them the money. So when they do their tax returns after 30th June, they can get some of it back, or in my case usually send them some more bluddy money.

I thought there was an E-Tax for Mac?

Well you didn't tell us you were a Major Aussie Employer .. singlehandedly keeping the economy running!

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by SneakySnake

Geeze. I would just get the paper tax pack from the newsagent and do all the calcs in excel. Then add notes about e-tax not working on your computer. They hate processing paper tax returns!

The problem is, so do I, enough to go through hours of install and updates from Windows XP SP1 onto the new iMac. Thankfully, the e-tax software makes the actual Return part easy.

Cheers,
Marc