Alan Collett

If the Forum Owners will allow me I'd be interested to know how many people who are migrating to Australia are (or are not) intending to take advice on tax and financial planning.

Best regards.

Nicstids

Bump!

sjn2003

I think you can pretty much guess which answer will come out on top !!

You should have specified another option - namely how many of those taking financial advice have actually paid for it

Alan Collett

No, actually I'm quite surprised by the results at the moment (as I type this more than 60% are happy they have researched all they need to know).

I am not sure whether that means there are some very resourceful people out there, whether the tax system in Australia is easier than I realised, or whether people don't recognise all the issues they should be considering ... :-))

Best regards.

Don

Could also be:

Not yet in Aus so don't realise the benefits of 'working' the Aus tax system
Not wealthy enough for it to really matter that much
Already internet savvy, makes research easier (ie not representative of migrants as a whole)

wmoore

I think this one's me.

kaz101

It surprises me too.

We weren't about to pay for tax advice before we knew we had the visa, but now it's been granted we've already been talking to tax advisors, especially since we're about to complete on an apartment in Melbourne that we bought off plan.

We don't plan to more out there for a few years, but it surprised us at the differences with the tax system in Oz (not that I fully understand the one here )

Alan Collett

Bounce ...

peppi

Alan do you offer this type of service on its own...? once I have a visa...Or is this something you are investigating doing at the moment...

kerunkadunk

The tax situation was one of the reasons we changed our mind about emigrating to Australia. Having spent 40 years getting to grips with the UK system, we found that there were too many ways for our hard earned cash to be extracted from us, and the tax/financial planning arrangements were just one.

Rob

markeh

So you stayed in the UK because of the tax implications

Bye
Mark

kaz101

That reply confused me too! No way would I let tax stop me from going somewhere but we all have different priorities. Personally it amazes me the way this government comes up with new and inventive ways of taxing us... IR35 and S660 to name a few( good thing I'm not bitter!).

Taxation may be higher in Oz but as I understand it, it's not stealth taxation.

TTFN,
Karen

Trevglas

There are a few hidden taxes in Australia, for example a payroll tax.

The state and federal governments are however very fond of bringing in levies, which according to all the spokesmen are "not taxes, just levies".

In Queensland for example, I have to pay an ambulance levy on my electricity bill! There has even been a suggestion in Queensland for a births, marriages and deaths levy
I am just waiting for the levy payable on tax paid to be introduced!

Just for a taster, here are some of the government levies recently in force in Australia. Not all these are payable by everybody, and some may now have been removed:

Levy on domestic sugar sales
Aircraft noise levy
Stevedoring levy
Dairy industry adjustment levy
Ansett levy

The high income tax rate is also supplimented by 10% GST, plus an absolutely gobsmacking amount of money received by state governments in tax taken from poker machines, you really have to wonder where all this money goes.

Alan Collett

Yes ... I didn't want this thread to come across as a promotional exercise, but for those who are interested I "put on my Chartered Accountant hat" and advise on tax planning issues for those who are moving to Oz. Please send me an email if you want to know more ...

Best regards.

Alan Collett

Bounce (for the last time) ...