ATO (tax office) payments by credit card

Any opinions about Capital gains tax being "income tax" or otherwise? (yes I am asking for an opinion not advice)

"Capital Gains Tax" is a bit of a misnomer because what is referred to as CGT is not a separate tax as such but rather a set of provisions in the 97 Act that work out whether you have enjoyed a capital gain in a year. That capital gain is then included (subject to any discounts or capital losses that apply) in your assessable income for the year and income tax paid accordingly. So say you had a salary income of $50,000 and under the CGT provisions you also enjoyed a capital gain of $20,000. For that year your assessable income would be $70,000 and you would pay income tax on $70,000.

In the 97 Tax Act this is summarised as follows:

100‑10 Fundamentals of CGT
(1) CGT affects your income tax liability because your assessable income includes your net capital gain for the income year. Your net capital gain is the total of your capital gains for the income year, reduced by certain capital losses you have made.


So yes, in my opinion, offered solely for discussion and not advice purposes, the tax you pay on that part of your assessable income that relates to a capital gain is properly described as "income tax".

 
I had a Melbourne business manager in my office today who was paying the ATO by EFT transfer. Oops they had missed 20 million points earning. I offered to help....
 
Today marked the start of what I hope to be a long and successful relationship between my credit cards and the ATO.

$235k in various taxes paid this evening, post 6pm, for a nice quarterly haul of 353k points. At a cost of less than 1 cent per mile/ point I am extremely happy with the outcome.

This may prove to be my second best $/point earning avenue.
 
Thanks for keeping our nation running melbourne rebel.
I thought I should thank you seeing no one from anywhere else will!
 
Especially the CitiSelect Visa card with 1.33 points per $ - Taking the 1.33 points per $ into account and also the tax deductability of the credit card fee for business payments and you get a cost per point of just over 0.25c. Not too bad.

(NB: Only 1 point per $ if you want Qantas points, whilst Singapore, Virgin etc are 1.33 points per $)
 
OK, so today is over and done with, lets move on to the end of financial year taxes due on 21st March, that's the next one for me, the the Feb PAYG. (including Grandma's which i'm volunteering to wear the surcharge). have to clear all of these before i fly to Europe and return J in May, courtesy of the ATO!
 
Hi melbourne rebel, M/card or Visa is better value than AMEX even at 1.5 points per dollar
Well that is not lalways the case. As pointed out previously by someone in this forum it depends on how many points you need. If you need 140,000 more points to book that overseas J seat and you have (only) $100,000 of tax to pay, then paying on Amex may be considered the better value because you will earn sufficient points to book the seat.

I understand it costs more per point but it depends how you value the points. If you do not have enough points to book the seat you want when you want to go then the 100,000 points from Visa that you cannot use ( at that instant in time) could be looked at as expensive.
 
Yes I think it is too. js really kicked this off and 72 pages later we have folks wishing their tax bills were bigger!
 
So yes, in my opinion, offered solely for discussion and not advice purposes, the tax you pay on that part of your assessable income that relates to a capital gain is properly described as "income tax".


Awesome thanks! Makes perfect sense as CG are just another income item in the tax pack. I'll print out the first bit of your post for my records.

Really wish I asked to pay my aunts $1 mil+ CGT bill a couple of years ago :(


Sent from the Throne (80% chance) using Aust Freq Fly app
 
Here's how I can help you Auntie........
Don't forget to buy your relatives a present if you pay their taxes on your favourite credit card.
Moving forward......in the aircraft.....is a very pleasant result for your efforts.
 
Just for an update or link, again which is the best credit card to use?
1. American Express 1.25% fee?
2. Automatic QFF attached?
3. OR Just accrue points on NON QFF FREQUENT FLYER card?
4. To make it worth the "fee" minimum amount of tax paid in statement, has anyone worked out a medium?

Just for reference: How to pay as the first post on thread is so OUTDATED!

Regards
 
If you are a speed reader you could read the blog " Frequent Flyer Fiend And The Game" in popular blogs on AFF.
Amex is the most expensive at 0.833 cents per point off a 1.5 points a dollar card of theirs so this is good if you really,really need those extra points to get to your target number to fly somewhere.
The best you can get is 0.36 cents per point on a Citibank Select and 0.48 cents a point on the point per dollar Visa and Mastercards.....HSBC,Woolworths EDR,BankWest,Qantas Credit Unionand a couple of others.
Citibank Business is 1.25 points on Visa so it is popular.
I can leave the idea of the tax deductibility of any ATO fee to your tax adviser but Stephen65 has been helpful in this thread.
With super cheap coach fares available I would say this thread assists flyers who want to fly in a class up from economy.
 
i use a Westpac Altitude Platinum Amex. i get 3 X points for using Amex. Surcharge not really an issue, as most of it is business anyway. when transferring to FF, most of mine is then 2 for 1. well worth it for me. enables 2 or 3 of us to fly J international at least twice a year. haven't gone in F yet. don't want this addiction to get out of hand. it's obsessive enough now.
 

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