
The ATO has recently issued guidelines to businesses which are part of the sharing economy,?advising such enterprises that they were?no different from traditional bricks and mortar businesses and so needed to pay tax and collect ten per cent GST if annual turnover was $75,000 or more.?
According to deputy tax commissioner James?O’Halloran, the law applies whether an entity is a bricks and mortar business or a mobile phone app or website.?Using Uber as an example,?O’Halloran claimed that the company was?considered to be tagged under “taxi travel” under the GST law regardless of turnover, and therefore drivers must be registered to charge tax. “We understand that people don’t often consider the tax consequences of new and emerging business models,” O’Halloran said.?”Our first step is to assist taxpayers involved in the sharing economy to meet their tax obligations.” It seems as if Uber really doesn’t like to be put into the same category as the average taxi. It’s not the first time either. The taxi company wracked up fines of?$64,000 in US city Eugene. Officials suggested that, as Uber fell under the category of being a public passenger vehicle, it needed such a license. Of course, Uber declined to pay the fines by claiming it wasn’t really a taxi company. In this case, Uber?has once again argued that it is a ?fundamentally different service? from taxis and thus deserves different treatment. It also claimed that the ATO’s decision was a “flawed” one. Read more about Uber:- Addison Lee acquires Camden-based rival Cyclone VIP to drive Uber off the road
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