OZ taxes
 

hi all
i would like to known how it works for income taxes if you are base in SYD with Korean air ( korean taxes already paid )
fly safe
SV4l

The big question is whether you are a resident or non-resident for tax purposes. The primary test for this (by the ATO) is where you have your primary place of abode, which in your case would be Australia. Therefore any tax paid in Korean would become a credit towards your tax obligations in Aus. For example you would declare your income at the end of the financial year as normal, and if you paid less tax in korea than would have to pay the difference to the Australian tax office.

If Korea pays significantly less tax, it may be possible to establish yourself as a non resident for tax purposes and "visit" Australia regularly. This would depend on your individual circumstances though, advice of a good accountant might be in order!!!

Do what many do......set up an offshore company...in a tax haven..get your contract paid into that offshore company...pay yourself a "declared income" from that offshore company, usually in a lower tax bracket...and keep the rest offshore or invested in such a way that your offshore company can purchase assets in your country of residence...and pay a much lower rate of tax.
Get a good tax accountant, who will devise a plan to convince the taxman that you earn far less than you do.......:E
Make sure you use the word "consultant" to describe any employment to the tax man:ok:

..........and if you are planning on doing anything slightly shonky ala Packer, Murdoch etc, make sure you have as much money as they do for Accountants and lawyers.
Minor tax evasion attracts a 100% fine of the tax you did not pay plus re-payment of the original figure.
I think someone also forgot to mention that to get tax credit from another country, Australia must have a tax treaty with that country, Korea may well have.
Its a real bag of worms, and I would be surprised if anyone can give you a straight answer.
BTW, you did'nt mention if an Oz citizen ?
Good advice from Haughtney, do get a REAL good tax accountant.


Where is 404 when you need him :confused:

cunninglinguist

I’m still here. Unfortunately work keeps getting in the way of my spare time. On the surface of what I know about the Korean Airlines contract, he will have to pay Aus tax as he will be classed as a resident for tax purposes.

Tread carefully
 

SV4L

Be very careful. As mentioned by earlier posters get a very good accountant who has experience in these cases.

I have been told to ensure that I maintain a residence out of Aus and also spend less than 50% of my time in-country. The latter is easy but the former is very expensive.

Not sure how the KAL contract works, but having a hotel room while working does not count according to my tax person. Check tax treaties as well.

Good luck - the ATO employs Rotweilers who will never let go if they get hold of you.

In NZ you will be taxed even if away for more than 180 days of the year because in most cases you will still have an 'enduring relationship' in NZ. I dunno if Oz is the same but the definition of an enduring relationship covers everything from owning property to having children educated there and even having a car permanently registered there under your name so as others have said....be very careful.

I believe the ATO also look at where your family live and if you have a residence in Australia and your wife and kids live there you are going to have great difficulty in claiming non residence even if away for +6 months of the year.

A legal seperation from your wife if married may help, but as the others have said get a good accountant. The ATO have a checklist to determine residence and owning a car, having a bank account etc all add up against you.

It's well worth the effort to get out of the Ausssie tax system. Captains here lose 10% of their salary in tax vs 33% in Australia. Makes quite a difference to your retirement;)

I have no objection to paying a reasonable tax bill for the services I enjoy but I do object to being taxed to the hilt to support the largess of a bloated and inefficient bureaucracy

hi all

thank you for all this informations

fly safe

sv4l