Apparently I ripped off the Aus Taxation Office.

I am being ‘audited’ by the Aus equivalent of the IRS, the ATO. Apparently they noticed that my tax-deductions for the last financial year vastly exceeded the amount that others in my job description claimed.

Of course, they failed to notice that my place of employ and my home address span a distance of over 1000km (shit of a commute, right?) It means I WORK FROM HOME, morons, AND I MAINTAIN A HOME OFFICE, morons, SO IT MEANS THAT ALL THE SHIT I CLAIMED IS CLAIMABLE because I PAY FOR IT, not my employer, morons.

But now I have to submit every single fucking electricity and gas and internet and phone and water and cleaning etc etc bill and show how I calculated the amount of the deductions I claimed. Sure, maybe my calculations were a bit exaggerated here and there, but we’re talking TENS of dollars, maybe??

It’s so true. If you’ve got millions stashed in the Caymans avoiding your tax dues you can get away with it no worries. But try to stiff the tax-man for a hundred bucks and you’re fucked.

Yes, this is just how it goes.

I’ve had my financial ups and downs, and the practically guaranteed aspect of a “down” was that the tax people would be harassing me. It would inevitably come when I was not only at my poorest, but also my most vulnerable, like in the middle of a divorce.

But during the times when money was pouring in like a flood, nothing. Of course, during the times when money was pouring in, I had an amazing accountant who could make taxation floodwaters recede like Moses.

Hah, ain’t that the truth.

But in my situation, there’s no ups and downs. I’m what is called a low-income earner (around 30k gross per year when the average wage is considered 70k per year, go figure). So there’s never a flood. And I can’t afford an accountant. :smiley:

The max that the ATO can squeeze out of my dishonesty and blatant fraud is maybe $200, give or take. My tax refund last year was a whole $817.

Fuckers. Go for the big knobs ya bastards. The amount you will spend getting Peta to ring me, leave messages, email me, then assess my claims will VASTLY exceed the amount you will get back.

I would advise that you phrase this more diplomatically when you’re dealing with them. Best of luck!

I’m not an accountant or a lawyer, but here’s my take based on my (admittedly limited) life experience:

More often than not, audits result in paying more money, so expect to pay something from the start. If we’re not talking about a lot of money, then maybe just suck itup, grin and bear it, and let the tax man leave, and then pay whatever you gotta pay. OTOH, if the deductions were substantial, I would get a qualified accountant who has audit experience pronto. Have him/her help you prepare for it and then be present during the audit. You’ll still pay but an expert can help you minimize the damage.

The government will do wonderful things with the money and you’ll probably be made better off with them in control of your money. Yes, it’s for your own good.

They will no doubt fight climate change or Muslims with the funds. Hell why not both.

I just want to say how much we all appreciate the input of our resident libertarian anarchist fuckwit to this discussion. It’s just so helpful and empathetic.

No, libertarian anarchist fuckwit, eliminating government is not the solution to taxation inequalities. On the contrary, taxation inequalities are precisely the result of brain-dead libertarian anarchist fuckwits like yourself voting right-wing morons into government.

Yes, the libertarian anarchist wing of the Republican Party is clearly very influential. You are an astute observer of our times.

Home office deductions are one of the red flags in the US. It’s not a guarantee of an audit, but it’s one of the major items that the tax office looks at when deciding who to audit.

It is probably one of those items that is easy to fraudulently claim, easy to exaggerate, and can be very lucrative from a deduction standpoint.

Even in Australia? I thought “G’day, y’ugly cunt!” was considered their most polite greeting.

Thank you. It’s certainly true, but it isn’t a “wing”, it’s the whole party.

Anyone who thinks Republicans are not in favor of big-time tax evaders* (and making up the shortfalls by going after small businesses) would have to be some sort of lunatic in the manner of flat-earth conspirator moon-landing-denier libertarian types. Yeah, that should be the middle of the road.

Wait, I just noticed who I was responding to. Never mind. The earth is actually spherical, you know, but this isn’t the right forum to get into that with obvious imbeciles.


Possibly so. The OP is in Aus. Here in Canada, I know someone who has been running a successful home office consulting business for more than two decades and has never been audited, nor was there any reason to do so.

Heh, beat me to it and probably better than my joke.

I’ve known people who got busted for claiming far too much on their home offices. One was a teacher who used a spare bedroom for occational work and claimed 1/3 of his apartment. He got his ass handed to him.

More deep insight. The Republican Party is anarcho-capitalist somehow. Donald Trump is always tweeting his favorite Murray Rothbard lines for example. I can’t count how many meetings Mike Pence has had with David Friedman.

I’m sorry kambuckta. What a pain in the ass.

Agreed. You always have the option of putting Farnaby on “Ignore,” though, so at least it’s not a pain in the ass that you can’t do anything about. Unlike the tax audit. Hope it goes fairly easy on you.

I thought it covered both situations admirably. :wink:

I’m not putting Farnaby on ignore; at least, not for the time being. He’s just too entertaining. Good comedy is a scarce resource these days.

This is an overreaction. The ATO’s computer noticed an “unusual figure” and isn’t an AI. Furthermore the ATO is just checking.

They do this in Canada all the time. You can get checked for any claims, including working from home, even if they know you’re working from home.

So if you claim something, scan your receipts into your computer, and send them. You would have had all your receipts in one place when you did your taxes.

People who hide money in the Caymans actually know what they’re doing when it comes to tax fraud, and at least in Canada the government has a bad habit of cutting tax collector budgets when they’re running low on cash. Shouldn’t it be the opposite?

Yep. Once I was asked for proof that I had paid my house taxes, in support of the property tax deduction. I had already provided proof of the amount via tax bills, but they wanted proof of actual payment! Did they think it was my policy to never pay my property taxes, ever, and then try to stiff the tax man by claiming I did? Did it occur to them that proof of actual payment was the fact that I was actually living here and the town had not foreclosed on the house? :smiley: