
Issue No 101		06 July 2001

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News

Couriers Buck Over Tax Ruling

A new Tax Office ruling could decimate the courier industry, sending hundreds of small businesses broke by increasing their tax bills by 20 per cent.

The Transport Workers Union is gearing for a major campaign on the issue, in the wake of the ruling - which deems owner drivers as employees. This is despite a separate ruling that they are businesses for the purposes of the GST and must file a Business Activity Statement each quarter.

Courier and TWU delegate Pat Walsh says the ruling will cost him more than $250 per week and make his business - and those of the other 120 contractors in his yard - unviable.

Walsh says the ruling - which is retrospective for the past year - ignored the huge capital outlays that owner-drivers had to make ($80,000-$90,000).

TWU state secretary Tony Sheldon says the ruling comes despite assurances by former Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith that the measure was not designed to target genuine independent contractors.

While the owner drivers have been told they can apply for a determination that they are, indeed, a business - it is a highly complex form with a total of 68 questionsa dn 10 sub-sections.

"The ATO's ruling is just another example of the Federal Government using its tax laws to slug hard working Australians and their families while the big end of town continues to get away scot free," Sheldon says..

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Issue 101 contents

Interview: A Little Knowledge
Labor's science spokesman Martyn Evans was the Opposition's key player on the Knowledge Nation inquiry. He fills us in on the process.

Education: Theory and Practise
Whether or not you agree with the priorities for of Barry Jones� Knowledge Nation Taskforce, Julie Wells argues its boldness has to be admired.

E-Change: 1.1 Email Nation
In the first of a series of articles on politics and the new economy, Peter Lewis and Michael Gadiel argue network technologies are reshaping the fundamentals of society.

Economics: Banking on the Goodwill
Given their history, Evan Jones wonders whether banks can really claim to be "just like any other business"

International: A Deathly Struggle
In this dispatch from PNG, a trade union leader briefs us on the situation following the shooting of seven students at an anti-privatisation rally.

History: Enlarging Human Personality
Mark Hearn argues that Lloyd Ross's post-War approach to Workplace Democracy seems contemporary by today's standards

Satire: Shit is a Four Letter Word
Australian TV drama is lame and gutless just look at the ABC's Love is a Four Letter Word, says Tony Moore

Review: Tribute to an Artist
Dalgarno painted the seagulls circling the seafarer like flies buzzing around the face of a bushman. Thus did the artist depict the maritime worker.

» Academic Freedom On Trial

» Unified Approach to Sheahan Inquiry

» Living Standards Shape as Election Factor

» Clairvoyant PM In Secret Deal Fantasy

» Hotels Face Workers Quiz

» Call for Senate to Decide Spammer's Fate

» PNG � Howard Should Speak Out

» Couriers Buck Over Tax Ruling

» Kempsey Killing Highlights Health Fears

» Checkout Operators Better Paid Than Aged Care Workers

» ACTU Weighs Into Bank Campaign

» Fund Bad Health for Families

» Australian Music Web Radio Station Needs Recruits

» Activist Notebook