Praise for the taxman
It’s not often the Tax Office receives any praise, so I’d like to make this offering:
I have a company called Alpine News, which I established four years ago after struggling with tax liabilities under a sole-trader structure.
Alpine News took over my public relations business, Gorey Media. I also published a newspaper under the Alpine News banner for six months and more recently I’ve diversified into web services.
I’ve been using a nifty little program called Owl for my GST reporting. I record all invoices and expenses in the program, and until recently gave print-outs to my accountant, who compiled the Business Activity Statements (BAS).
These arrangements suited me while I was turning over significant amounts and working long hours.
However, now that I’m employed at Alpine Health, my company trading has diminished substantially and I can no longer justify paying an accountant to compile my BAS.
After my annual tax return was completed I applied to the Australian Tax Office for online services to submit my own quarterly reports electronically.
The system is highly secure, with a digital certificate in addition to password protection.
An ATO staff member rang me to confirm my details. I then received a CD, PIN, password and registration information in the mail.
Once it was installed the submission was a breeze. The actual reporting took me less than 15 minutes.
I no longer have the reassurance of independent eyes overseeing my report, but amendments can always be made, if neccesary, at the end of the financial year.
Full credit to the Tax Office for providing an efficient, secure and user-friendly service.
I'm a 41-year-old father of four working as a newspaper editor at Mount Gambier in South Australia.
