Author Topic: Tax and Tax returns for bands?  (Read 9448 times)

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Offline memoriesofnam

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Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« on: May 01, 2009, 01:15:55 AM »
Just wondering how many bands have an Abn (assuming most need one for gigs?), and how many submit a tax return at the end of the financial year?

What sort of things can you claim as a 'business expense'? Any accountants out there?

Offline dparker

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2009, 08:12:04 AM »
From what I've heard, musical equipment (amps, guitars, drums, etc including disposables like strings and skins) and even CDs can be claimed as a business expense.
I must slumber, per se.

Offline memoriesofnam

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #2 on: May 02, 2009, 04:57:00 AM »
I assumed that's the case - but wonder how many do? Is it simply a tax deduction, so you pay less tax per quarter when lodging BAS? Or are bands not bothering to lodge a quarterly BAS due to low 'income'?

Offline memoriesofnam

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #3 on: May 02, 2009, 07:10:10 PM »
Everyones clearly more worried about pig flu then getting money back on their guitars, cds, and artwork / design work  :P

Offline cyanide_christ

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2009, 07:18:01 PM »
I'm more worried about what I'm going to do with my second stimulus package...oh wait I know what I'm going to do with it - pay off my large debt.

Offline EvilElvis

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2009, 09:11:52 PM »
Print some of this shit out:

Offline Dementor

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #6 on: May 02, 2009, 09:19:04 PM »
Print some of this shit out:

Republic credits are no good here.

Offline Khariot_G

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #7 on: May 02, 2009, 09:29:00 PM »
Print some of this shit out:


hells yeah! DARTH DOLLAR!!!  :headbang:  :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Offline DamoESP

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #8 on: May 03, 2009, 04:28:01 AM »
I'm more worried about what I'm going to do with my second stimulus package...oh wait I know what I'm going to do with it - pay off my large debt.

Which wont stimulate anything. (though my $900 will go on studying costs so same deal..)

Stimulus package = worst idea ever....could be putting those millions of $$ into creating new local infrastructure, thus creating local jobs...and in turn..stimulating the economy....
Check out our band, Arkarion:
http://www.arkarion.com

Offline DevolvedEmperor

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #9 on: May 03, 2009, 06:27:09 AM »
I'm more worried about what I'm going to do with my second stimulus package...oh wait I know what I'm going to do with it - pay off my large debt.
Yep!

Which wont stimulate anything. (though my $900 will go on studying costs so same deal..)

Stimulus package = worst idea ever....could be putting those millions of $$ into creating new local infrastructure, thus creating local jobs...and in turn..stimulating the economy....

Offline memoriesofnam

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #10 on: May 03, 2009, 04:48:50 PM »
...so none of you claim anything as a business expense for your band then?

Offline Jimmy_Mate

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #11 on: May 03, 2009, 04:53:50 PM »
Speak to guy bell mate von enforce (Metalhawk on here).
They are set up as a company and claim certain (as in all legitimate) deductions.


Fuck the taxation dept - try and reclaim every cent you can. The less of your $ paid in tax, the better.
HAHAHAHA

Offline DevolvedEmperor

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #12 on: May 03, 2009, 07:25:19 PM »
...so none of you claim anything as a business expense for your band then?
I'm assuming a few proportion of bands don't have an ABN and most gig payments would be cash in hand anyway. Ie. they wouldn't pay tax. Surely not many local bands would make enough money so that even if they did pay tax it'd probably be an insignificant ammount.

Offline Ormsby_Guitars

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #13 on: May 03, 2009, 08:03:13 PM »
...so none of you claim anything as a business expense for your band then?
I'm assuming a few proportion of bands don't have an ABN and most gig payments would be cash in hand anyway. Ie. they wouldn't pay tax. Surely not many local bands would make enough money so that even if they did pay tax it'd probably be an insignificant ammount.

Yup, but most bands spend way more on gear, rehearsals, servicing, etc etc than they make performing. If you dont have an ABN, and take payments as cash, then you wont pay tax, but you cant claim back the GST and get the tax rebates. Losses can be rolled over from year to year (so when your income exceeds your expenditure, you can still avoid paying taxes), but you cant claim for stuff you purchased prior to getting an ABN.

One $3000 guitar (or 50 weeks of $60 rehearsal room hire, a bass, an amp, whatever) will get you back $272 (gst) at the end of the month/quarter/year and another $700-900 (tax return rebate, roughly, dependent on your actual financial situation) at the end of the financial year.

GST/ABN/TAX can be daunting at first. Once you learn the ropes though, and start actually running your band as a business, it's real easy. The tax department are extremely helpful, and will give you all the info you need to get the maximum returns back.








Offline memoriesofnam

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #14 on: May 04, 2009, 04:04:55 AM »
Cheers SOD and Perry!

Exactly what I was hoping for Ormsby, thanks!
To clarify why I was asking, is that many of the bands I've done artwork and design work for, don't claim anything back on tax. Bottom line being, if more local bands are aware of being elegible to claim money back on business expenses such as: artwork, guitars, rehearsing, cds, and so on, the more work those of us such as Ormsby, Soundworks / Apparel Direct, Ryan Felton, other photographers, my partner and I, and anyone else providing services to the local metal scene.

Cheers


Offline DevolvedEmperor

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #15 on: May 04, 2009, 04:17:38 AM »
I'm confuseded. Sounds like your getting very into the business Bman! We should have a chat and you can explain it all to me sometime!

Offline Grim

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #16 on: May 04, 2009, 05:58:50 AM »



Fuck the taxation dept - try and reclaim every cent you can. The less of your $ paid in tax, the better.

Watch out for this guy! He sounds really pissed off! I wonder what would happen if he got short changed at Hungry Jacks?

Offline dparker

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #17 on: May 04, 2009, 09:48:51 AM »



Fuck the taxation dept - try and reclaim every cent you can. The less of your $ paid in tax, the better.

Watch out for this guy! He sounds really pissed off! I wonder what would happen if he got short changed at Hungry Jacks?

Haha, I could write a rant about high income earners who have a bone to pick with the tax department and centrelink reliants, etc... but I should spare it for when I am sober.

In short, don't get shitty at others taking a share of your "hard-earned", high-income (and thus high-taxed) coin, because these people's existence supports your ability to be earning aforementioned coin. If you remove the altar beneath a god, they're standing on the same earth the altar once was.
I must slumber, per se.

Offline DevolvedEmperor

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #18 on: May 04, 2009, 10:08:14 AM »
I can't blame bands for not registering as a business. I'm in the process of possibly setting up a small distro and trying to figure out what the hell and if i need it i and the tax site doesn't help at all :P I'm more confused than when i started.

Need to do a 4 year uni course to figure this shit out!

Offline Jimmy_Mate

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #19 on: May 04, 2009, 03:35:19 PM »
Fuck the taxation dept - try and reclaim every cent you can. The less of your $ paid in tax, the better.

Watch out for this guy! He sounds really pissed off! I wonder what would happen if he got short changed at Hungry Jacks?

HAHA gray gray - getting short changed at HJ's pisses me off big time (not that it happens as im on em like a hawk if theyre one cent short in my change.... or give me a coke instead of a sprite), but above all nothing would piss me off more than if i was on the job and just before getting down and dirty i was told that MY SHOES FUCKING STINK AY!!!! ;D

Haha, I could write a rant about high income earners who have a bone to pick with the tax department and centrelink reliants, etc... but I should spare it for when I am sober.

In short, don't get shitty at others taking a share of your "hard-earned", high-income (and thus high-taxed) coin, because these people's existence supports your ability to be earning aforementioned coin. If you remove the altar beneath a god, they're standing on the same earth the altar once was.

OH YOU POOR, STRUGGLING, PENNILESS STUDENT AFTER READING YOUR PROFOUND WORDS IN YOUR POST ALL I CAN SAY IS - OH OHHHHHH I FEEL SO SORRY FOR YOUR POOR, STRUGGLING, PENNILESS ASS!!! HERE - PLEASE HAVE HALF THE $$$ I WORK FOR (12 HRS A DAY, 1400KM AWAY FROM HOME, WEEKS AT A TIME) SO YOU STUDY YOUR WORTHWHILE ARTS DEGREE, STUFF YOUR PIMPLY, SCABBY FACE WITH MACCAS, CASH UP THE CURTIN TAVERN AND SO GEORGE CAN BUY A NEW YACHT WITH THE INCREASED SALES IN KEBABS. ;D
« Last Edit: May 04, 2009, 04:26:35 PM by SOD »
HAHAHAHA

Offline dparker

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #20 on: May 04, 2009, 08:04:02 PM »
Haha, I could write a rant about high income earners who have a bone to pick with the tax department and centrelink reliants, etc... but I should spare it for when I am sober.

In short, don't get shitty at others taking a share of your "hard-earned", high-income (and thus high-taxed) coin, because these people's existence supports your ability to be earning aforementioned coin. If you remove the altar beneath a god, they're standing on the same earth the altar once was.

OH YOU POOR, STRUGGLING, PENNILESS STUDENT AFTER READING YOUR PROFOUND WORDS IN YOUR POST ALL I CAN SAY IS - OH OHHHHHH I FEEL SO SORRY FOR YOUR POOR, STRUGGLING, PENNILESS ASS!!! HERE - PLEASE HAVE HALF THE $$$ I WORK FOR (12 HRS A DAY, 1400KM AWAY FROM HOME, WEEKS AT A TIME) SO YOU STUDY YOUR WORTHWHILE ARTS DEGREE, STUFF YOUR PIMPLY, SCABBY FACE WITH MACCAS, CASH UP THE CURTIN TAVERN AND SO GEORGE CAN BUY A NEW YACHT WITH THE INCREASED SALES IN KEBABS. ;D

Really? I totally appreciate that man... it's great that you've opened up and decided to be more conscious of everyone around you without totally missing my point.
Today, I'm going to eat three Egg McMuffin meals on the way to blowing my rent money at the Tav!
I must slumber, per se.

Offline WarNick

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #21 on: May 05, 2009, 04:20:10 AM »
Speak to guy bell mate von enforce (Metalhawk on here).
They are set up as a company and claim certain (as in all legitimate) deductions.


Fuck the taxation dept - try and reclaim every cent you can. The less of your $ paid in tax, the better.

Standard Alan Bond response from any snob getting taxed 48c to the dollar. ;D

Offline Nosaj

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #22 on: May 05, 2009, 06:21:53 AM »
Print some of this shit out:

Republic credits are no good here.
It's now the Empire and I don't think Vader gives a shit either way.

Offline DevolvedEmperor

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #23 on: May 08, 2009, 08:59:25 AM »
...so none of you claim anything as a business expense for your band then?
I'm assuming a few proportion of bands don't have an ABN and most gig payments would be cash in hand anyway. Ie. they wouldn't pay tax. Surely not many local bands would make enough money so that even if they did pay tax it'd probably be an insignificant ammount.
One $3000 guitar (or 50 weeks of $60 rehearsal room hire, a bass, an amp, whatever) will get you back $272 (gst) at the end of the month/quarter/year and another $700-900 (tax return rebate, roughly, dependent on your actual financial situation) at the end of the financial year.
Hmmm from what i have been reading no band would get the 10% credits back as you'd have to be earning over $75 000 and registered for GST, which i doubt any Perth band would make.

From what i can make out you don't even have to pay GST if u earn under $75 000 as a businee. At least thats what i can make out of all the jargon. If anyone wnats to clear it up that's be great :P

I. just. don't. get. it.

Offline TnT

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Re: Tax and Tax returns for bands?
« Reply #24 on: May 08, 2009, 10:49:04 PM »
It's correct that you don't have to be registered for GST if you earn under a certain amount, but you can voluntarily anyway if you so wish, in which case you can claim back the GST amount that you spend on any goods and services for said business / entity.