Prove you need that gadget for work

Discussion in 'Accounting & Tax' started by Simon Hampel, 14th May, 2008.

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  1. Simon Hampel

    Simon Hampel Founder Staff Member

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    MISaustralia.com - Prove you need that gadget for work

     
  2. Rob G

    Rob G Well-Known Member

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    bye bye double-dip ... you will be remembered by Taxation Planners fondly !

    Cheers,

    Rob
     
  3. Simon Hampel

    Simon Hampel Founder Staff Member

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    I must admit to being incredulous when I first learned about the double-dip loophole.

    I can actually remember where I was and who I was with when I learned about it (it was a dinner after the infamous Somersoft Pub Crawl in March 2002 - and I never did apologise to Dale Gatherum-Goss for essentially calling him a liar ... I didn't really know him at the time and questioned his sanity for claiming there existed such a stupid loophole).

    I learned a lot about the reality of the tax system that night - and about how logic is not neccessarily a tool used by our taxation legislators!
     
  4. Rob G

    Rob G Well-Known Member

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    Oh i think there is some logic.

    You have provided your labour/skill as an employee which forms the cost of the capital asset. You worked for it, you didn't get salary you got assets instead.

    s.40-180 ITAA97 cost of a depreciating asset is what you have paid or are taken to have paid for it.

    Don't forget the nasty catch with denying the otherwise deductible rule to fringe benefits (e.g. s.44(1)(b), s.24(1)(b)(ii)) where they are not fully deductible in the year incurred - i.e. depreciation.

    I thought this was a fair antidote.

    Cheers,

    Rob
     
  5. voigtstr

    voigtstr Well-Known Member

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    The thing is I bought a Macbook Pro laptop last month, and was waiting to claim it on 1st july to salary sacrafice it. The laptop scheme has been suspended whilst they work out the details of the changes.

    I wouldnt have bought a laptop for nearly 4K if I knew that I would not be able to buy it in pretax dollars.
     
  6. Simon Hampel

    Simon Hampel Founder Staff Member

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    Yeah I think it is a bit rough implementing the changes immediately.
     
  7. AsxBroker

    AsxBroker Well-Known Member

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    I love the irony...

    Don't let the adults buy laptops, but let the kids buy laptops...

    "From 1 July 2008, eligible parents will be able to claim a 50 per cent refund on eligible education expenses for children undertaking primary or secondary school studies — up to $375 for a primary schooler and up to $750 for a secondary school child each year."

    Realistically, $750 doesn't but much of a laptop (well a very BASE model). Maybe the year after we can buy a bigger hard disc, more ram, etc.

    Cheers,

    Dan
     
  8. Glebe

    Glebe Well-Known Member

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    Dan,

    I'm about to buy an Asus EEEPC. At $700 it's got all I need!
     
  9. Nigel Ward

    Nigel Ward Well-Known Member

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    The 7" one or the 9" new model?

    Linux or Win XP?

    Are you going to expand memory with an SD card?

    Perhaps you can guess I'm v interested in eeePC and other UMPCs...

    I'm coming to the view that a 7" screen is the minimum size...

    Cheers
    N
     
  10. voigtstr

    voigtstr Well-Known Member

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    Good news for me. The company I work for has enabled the lap top scheme again for people that bought prior to the budget announcement.
     
  11. Simon Hampel

    Simon Hampel Founder Staff Member

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    ... only for people who don't actually do any real work :p :D
     
  12. Nigel Ward

    Nigel Ward Well-Known Member

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    I was waiting for that... :rolleyes::D

    I think one of the great things about linux on the eeePC is the fast boot time... I had a play in Harvey Norman and it seemed to be about 15 seconds...not sure to what extent that's due to the SSD though.

    I thought the HTC Shift might be the winner - but looking at it in the flesh it didn't seem too impressive.

    The Fujitsu 1620 looks nice - but getting a tad big with an 8.9" screen...could be perfect for onenote though.

    The lenovo U110 is getting great reviews but at 11.1" screen too big for me...

    Cheers
    N
     
  13. Simon Hampel

    Simon Hampel Founder Staff Member

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    Of course - I'm not implying that you don't do real work - just that I don't find ultra-small screens to be conducive to productivity beyond simple tasks.

    ... all depends on your needs I guess.
     
  14. voigtstr

    voigtstr Well-Known Member

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    As a desktop replacement (with mstand, and apple wired keyboard and MX revolution mouse), a Hi res 17" screen is the minimum I'd want. I cant still comfortably lug the macbook pro around in my back pack as well.
     
  15. reidy75

    reidy75 Member

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    I'd be guessing this is a fair bit of the reason behind the change in the salary sacrifice rules....

    hmmm, we've come up with this revolution that says we'll reimburse up to 50% of the cost of a laptop for a school kid. Dad buys it, gets reimbursed by his work so in effect he doesn't pay GST or income tax on the purchase, but still has a receipt in his name that he submits & claims back $750 from the government on. Not good economics, lets pay for our headline education revolution by creating the saving on the very same piece of equipment.