Did you know that we can lawfully stop paying income tax? This is particularly good news for the music, writing and arts world in general.
Turns out that income tax was brought in to pay for the debt associated with the Second World War. It was supposed to be repealed after that time, but never was, because the government was naturally hooked on all the extra income it was making from tax payers.
This made me reflect upon the various times in my life where I decided to freelance and could never work out why the tax rates were so ridiculously high for people who wished to work on their own creative terms and pay a fair tax contribution.
Perhaps consider accepting the challenge suggested by the author of this tax article, to write to the ATO (which is not a legal entity). Explain that you are considering voluntarily filling out an income tax return statement but, before you can do so, you need them to define the word 'income' for you and just see what they come back with.
Depending on what they say, you might then want to follow that up with a letter asking them to simply direct you to the section of the Income Tax Assessment Act that specifically defines the word 'income'.
The Income Tax Assessment Act refers to terms such as 'assessable income', 'statutory income', 'ordinary income', 'exempt income', 'non-assessable, non-exempt income' - but not a single, simple definition of 'income'.
We have been misled to believe that ‘ignorance is bliss’. The Corona gatecrash has revealed the opposite to be true. Happy creative trails.
Check out this article for more reliable information.
#tax #australia #arts #income #ato
https://www.knowyourrightsgroup.com.au/tax/
