Below is a summary of how the website works and some sample questions with approximate costs for the related advice. If you wish to ask a question once you have reviewed this page please proceed to the Ask Advice page.

How to Ask Taxation and GST Advice at taxassistance.com.au
Sample Question and Answer For Individuals
Sample Question and Answer For Business Employers with Employees
Guidelines Regarding Nature Of Questions And Costs Of Advice

HOW TO ASK TAXATION AND GST ADVICE AT TAXASSISTANCE.COM.AU

Step 1	Go to Ask Advice Page
Step 2	Complete online question form including supplying your contact details, your income tax or GST question and preferred method for receiving the advice
Step 3	Submit your question via the website or by printing off and faxing to 02 9388 2139
Step 4	Quotation for your advice is forwarded to you via email or facsimile as requested
Step 5	If you accept the quotation, payment is forwarded by you via EFT/Internet banking or cheque. (Please confirm with us when payment has been made)
Step 6	Answer is then forwarded to you via phone consultation, email or facsimile (as requested) with a Tax Invoice /Receipt

1. Answers are usually available within 24 hours of payment. This is subject to current demand and the complexity of the question asked.
2. Telephone consultation regarding the content of written answers (provided via email or facsimile) will be provided in limited circumstances only.

SAMPLE QUESTION AND ANSWER FOR INDIVIDUAL TAXPAYERS

I have paid the following expenses during the year:

1. Some sickness and accident insurance premiums
2. Fees to a union and
3. Paid my annual subscription to a professional association

Can I claim these expenses in my income tax return?

1. Self employed persons and employees can claim the cost of annual sickness and accident premiums incurred for insurance against the loss of income. Any benefits claimed under the policy must generally be paid by the Insurance Company through periodic or regular payments to be deductible.
   
   A deduction cannot be claimed for a premium or any part of a premium paid under a policy that compensates you via a 'capital' lump sum for things such as physical injury, loss of a limb or death. Where a sickness and accident premium provides for both capital lump sum benefits and replacement of income benefits through regular payments, only the portion relating to the regular income benefits is deductible. If it cannot be determined which part of the premium is paid for insurance against the loss of your income, then you cannot claim any deduction for the premium.
2. In relation to fees paid to a union, joining fees are not claimable as a deduction, however normal annual membership fees are claimable. Quite often your PAYG payment summary (formerly group certificates) may show the fees paid by you. If so, this may be used as evidence to prove your claim.
3. Similarly, the cost of initially joining a professional or business association is not claimable as a deduction. However, annual subscriptions to trade, business, or professional associations are claimable as a deduction. For example, an accountant who must pay an annual membership/subscription fee to an accountants' association to be able to conduct business, can claim this subscription fee.
   
   Note that for the full cost of the subscription to be deductible, there must be a direct connection between the derivation of your assessable income and the need to subscribe to the association,. Where this is not the case, a deduction of up to $42 per association can be claimed for the cost of membership of a trade, business or professional association (including initial joining fees), even though it is unrelated to the derivation of your assessable income. For example, if a taxpayer is retired but wishes to continue to be a member of an association, a deduction of up to $42 per association will generally be allowed.
   
   Approximate cost of advice for this question: $100 plus GST (via email or facsimile), $75 plus GST (via phone consultation)

SAMPLE QUESTION FOR BUSINESS EMPLOYERS WITH EMPLOYEES

Is employee salary packaging still advantageous today given changes in income tax rates and FBT laws over recent years?

With the significant reduction in marginal tax rates and thresholds that have came into effect over recent years, individual employees need to reassess their salary packages to see if they are still tax effective. This is because following these changes in tax rates and thresholds, it is estimated that 98% of taxpayers will be paying less than the top marginal tax rate of tax (currently the same as the FBT rate of 46.5%, including the Medicare Levy). Therefore, sacrificing salaries for benefits that attract FBT at 46.5 % will in most cases be detrimental to the employee's tax position. This is because, if an employee's salary is being taxed at 41.5% or even 31.5% (including the 1.5% Medicare Levy), there would be very limited circumstances where an employee would want to accept fully taxed fringe benefits in their package at 46.5%.

Generally, there will be little or no taxation advantage gained from packaging benefits that are fully taxed under the FBT rules. In limited cases, salary packaging benefits may still be achieved by asking the employee to contribute back towards the cost of the benefit from their after tax salary. The purpose of this is to reduce or eliminate the FBT cost of the benefit (which is what employee contributions do). This strategy can be commonly used for benefits that receive concessional tax treatment under the FBT rules (such as car benefits) and still produce tax savings for the employee.

Salary packaging also remains beneficial where the benefit being provided by the employer is exempt from FBT (e.g. laptops – one per employee per year, palm pilots and mobile phones used primarily for work related purposes, briefcases, airport lounge memberships, professional subscriptions and child care facilities on the employers premises etc.).

Whether any tax advantage can be obtained from packaging taxable fringe benefits depends on the type of fringe benefit provided, the level of the employee’s salary & taxable income and the employee’s use of the benefit (e.g. work related versus private purposes). To see if any advantage can be obtained, the numbers need to be worked out with a suitably qualified professional who is experienced in salary packaging calculations.

For those employees that will not benefit from salary packaging, they could consider a salary sacrifice of their wages income into superannuation. This does not attract any FBT and the recent changes to superannuation laws make this a most appealing taxation option. The downside to this option is that the sacrificed salary will not be accessible until retirement.

Employees of FBT exempt employers (such as religious institutions, public benevolent institutions and certain hospitals) and employees working for some non-profit employers (who receive an FBT rebate) can package benefits much more freely to receive tax advantages.

Approximate cost of advice for this question: $150 plus GST (via email or facsimile), $100 plus GST (via phone consultation)

GUIDELINES REGARDING NATURE OF QUESTIONS AND COSTS OF ADVICE

NATURE OF QUESTION OR SERVICE	APPROXIMATE COST * * May vary subject to complexity and individual circumstances
	EMAIL / FAX ADVICE	PHONE ADVICE
1. TAXATION AND GST ADVICE
Assistance with one item on a Business Activity Statement (BAS)	$75 plus GST	$50 plus GST
Assistance with one item on an Income Tax return	$75 plus GST	$50 plus GST
Do I need an Australian Business Number (ABN)?	$100 plus GST	$70 plus GST
Do I need to Register for the Goods and Services Tax (GST)?	$100 plus GST	$70 plus GST
Attending to the actual Registration of a client under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system including obtaining an ABN.	$150 plus GST	N / A
Under the Pay As You Go (PAYG) System what must I do if I buy goods and the supplier does not quote their ABN?	$150 plus GST	$100 plus GST
Assistance with Fringe Benefits Tax issues. E.g. Do certain items provided to employees within your business attract FBT?	$150 plus GST per item	$100 plus GST per item
What do I do if I make a mistake on my BAS and it is already lodged with the Taxation Office?	$175 plus GST	$125 plus GST
My business is considering the disposal of some shares or some land/property. Do I have to pay capital gains tax and how is it calculated? Are there any CGT concessions?	$200 plus GST	$150 plus GST
What tax concessions are available for small businesses and how do they work in practice?	$350 plus GST	$250 plus GST
What amounts do I need to report on employee payment summaries (formerly group certificates)?	$350 plus GST	$250 plus GST
What is the difference between leasing and hire purchase of a vehicle for taxation purposes? Which method is better?	$450 plus GST	$300 plus GST
An opinion or advice on a particular transaction or circumstances (reasonably complex). E.g. Which taxation structure is most appropriate for a particular transaction or venture? Is a particular amount assessable or deductible for income tax purposes?	$500 - $1,000 plus GST	$250 - $500 plus GST
2. COMPANY SECRATARIAL AND OTHER SERVICES
Advising the Australian Securities and Investment Commission of: Changes in directors Issuing new shares Changing registered addresses of a company	$200 plus GST (per change)	N / A
Ordering and delivery of a new shelf company (includes all necessary forms and delivery of statutory register)	$1,300 plus GST	N / A
Registering a Business name For 1 state For all states in Australia	$200 plus GST $800 plus GST	N / A N / A