Welcome to the start of the new financial year. A time when anyone connected to the financial parts of an organisation has finally emerged from a month long lockdown in their offices and hordes of personal assistants are nursing their blistered heels after a frantic week of parading up and down the quickly emptying aisles of their local “Officeworks” store.
A time when the purchasing Bombay doors of large companies opened briefly to drop large bundles of cash and then closed again with an almighty crash to signal the close of business for the financial year. Belts will once again be tightened and the "blood from a stone" attitude resume until around this time next year.
We have seen some pretty poor examples of the wealthy and big companies not paying what is considered their fair share. Certainly the Government’s recent ads on the Tele would have us believe that those big companies will soon be held accountable and destined to start helping to fix our national debt rather than just contributing to the size of it. At the very least these ads promise us that someone soon will be experiencing the rough end of the Taxation pineapple.
The depiction of a child’s wooden toy railway with steel balls being sent this way and that will no doubt strike fear into those reaping tax free profits in Australia. The cynic in me wonders if we'll just end up paying more for Netflix and other entertainment whilst the rich get to keep their fancy yachts in the Bahamas.
It is said that death and taxes are the certainties in this world and we seem to have an equally unhealthy fear of both. If you can afford it there is almost a status symbol in paying an expert to rifle through your shoebox of crumpled receipts in managing your tax. Most people just want some reassurance that they have not missed out on a legitimate benefit or have not done something wrong and are prepared to pay for that reassurance. If you can’t afford an expert you can try to negotiate the system but to many, doing your tax has the same attraction as public speaking. A few do it well but most are scared witless.
So it is no surprise that to a young student or someone facing their first year of negotiating their tax return, the whole experience may seem a little overwhelming and possibly setting them up for a lifetime of tax anxiety (just like the rest of us). But there is help for those who earned around $60,000 or less (some eligibility criteria apply). Many part time working students and young members of the workforce fall neatly into this category.
The ATO has for many years had in place a Tax Help program so that low-income earners can get help doing their Tax for free. All across Australia the ATO in conjunction with a range of community centres, social support groups and organisations, have registered and accredited volunteers to help. These volunteers are usually based in community centres or local hubs and are available in Adelaide and a range of regional centres.
Tax help is available from July to October. Phone 132861 to find your closest point of tax assistance.