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Tax Question For Australian Marketers On The Move

by Monika Mundell
8 replies
Hi guys,

I'm wondering if there are any benefits for an Australian citizen to set up an US LLC for their online business? I currently live in Oz, so I guess I'm bound to pay my taxes locally unless I start to indulge my travel passions and "lose" my home base for good.

My future plans involve travels and running my business from the road and right now I'm in need to minimize taxes because my income has skyrocketed. I'm not sure whether or not I should upgrade from being a sole trader to being a company/corporation and if so, are there valid reasons for doing so (e.g. lower tax rate, etc.).

I guess I'm looking for some insights from other marketers who run a healthy online business as their sole income stream and how they managed to preserve their income by choosing a specific route.

On another note, I know there are some people in this forum who live "nowhere" in particular. How do you guys solve your tax issues? Do you pay taxes at all? If so, where and why and if not how did you manage to "hide" from the big bad, but necessary wolf?

I appreciate any insights and tips.
Monika
#australian #marketers #move #question #tax
  • Profile picture of the author craigbrown
    Monika,

    I'm Australian and I don't pay any tax in my day job. Well, that's not entirely accurate... I do pay my tax with every pay cheque just like everyone else, but the big difference is that I usually get it ALL back at tax time.

    I do a lot of video production and IT work in my spare time for a DGR charity. I deliver to them an end product which they may then make copies of and sell for fundraising purposes and I get the value of those "master" products taken off my taxable income. You can do it from anywhere so long as you have access to a post office to send out the end product, which has to be a "physical" product. E.g. A master DVD

    Being au fait with content creation and ebooks, you should have no trouble doing the same so long as you can find a DGR charity who needs what you've got.

    EDIT: Yes, it's completely legal - I've been doing it for three years and have run it past several accountants and the Australian Tax Office each year to make sure they haven't moved the goal posts.
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    • Profile picture of the author innocent07
      Banned
      Firstly i'l have a dijeridoo and a Pet kangaro sent from Aus to me, lol.

      Just make sure you set up and fill in the correct tax forms in Australia, as avoiding thing could lead to things getting messy in the future. Its better to be safe than sorry.
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      • Profile picture of the author Monika Mundell
        Originally Posted by innocent07 View Post

        Firstly i'l have a dijeridoo and a Pet kangaro sent from Aus to me, lol.

        Just make sure you set up and fill in the correct tax forms in Australia, as avoiding thing could lead to things getting messy in the future. Its better to be safe than sorry.
        Hey innocent,

        I totally agree. I don't have the nerve to cheat the system because it comes to bite you in the ass in the end - Murphy's Law.

        However, there is no harm in finding better ways to do taxes and if this helps me to reduce the rate considerably then I'm all for it, provided it is legal.

        I also think the era of the offshore account is gone since Swiss banks were forced to open up their little secret societies to the law makers not so long ago - but perhaps I'm wrong in that assumption.

        Monika
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        • Profile picture of the author innocent07
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Monika Mundell View Post

          Hey innocent,

          I totally agree. I don't have the nerve to cheat the system because it comes to bite you in the ass in the end - Murphy's Law.

          However, there is no harm in finding better ways to do taxes and if this helps me to reduce the rate considerably then I'm all for it, provided it is legal.

          I also think the era of the offshore account is gone since Swiss banks were forced to open up their little secret societies to the law makers not so long ago - but perhaps I'm wrong in that assumption.

          Monika
          wel if you ever have the nerve to do it, still dont do it :p
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    • Profile picture of the author Monika Mundell
      Originally Posted by craigbrown View Post

      Monika,

      I'm Australian and I don't pay any tax in my day job. Well, that's not entirely accurate... I do pay my tax with every pay cheque just like everyone else, but the big difference is that I usually get it ALL back at tax time.

      I do a lot of video production and IT work in my spare time for a DGR charity. I deliver to them an end product which they may then make copies of and sell for fundraising purposes and I get the value of those "master" products taken off my taxable income. You can do it from anywhere so long as you have access to a post office to send out the end product, which has to be a "physical" product. E.g. A master DVD

      Being au fait with content creation and ebooks, you should have no trouble doing the same so long as you can find a DGR charity who needs what you've got.

      EDIT: Yes, it's completely legal - I've been doing it for three years and have run it past several accountants and the Australian Tax Office each year to make sure they haven't moved the goal posts.
      Hi Craig,

      From what you are saying I gather you need to have a physical product to do this by the law. I'm afraid my business is digital only so fat chance for me to do the same unless I'm missing something here.

      Are you implying that your DGR charity acts as a shield and poses as a charity but isn't in reality, or where you just lucky enough to hit on a client like this to sell your work to?

      Sorry for being so confused but I'm unfamiliar with this charity thing (at least from a service provider/seller) point of view.

      Monika
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      Click Here for Your Million Dollar Message
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      • Profile picture of the author craigbrown
        Originally Posted by Monika Mundell View Post

        Hi Craig,

        From what you are saying I gather you need to have a physical product to do this by the law. I'm afraid my business is digital only so fat chance for me to do the same unless I'm missing something here.

        Are you implying that your DGR charity acts as a shield and poses as a charity but isn't in reality, or where you just lucky enough to hit on a client like this to sell your work to?

        Sorry for being so confused but I'm unfamiliar with this charity thing (at least from a service provider/seller) point of view.

        Monika
        I create the products digitally and then deliver it in a physical format such as printout, DVD, CD or USB stick. How the DGR then distributes that product is up to them. Much of the E-learning content I create for them for instance goes onto their website. They burn and sell DVDs from my Master DVD. As long as you deliver them a physical product (not an email) they can use it however they choose. If you create digital goods, then send them a master DVD.

        The DGR is a registered charity who help the community in a variety of different ways. The ATO will not grant DGR status to an organisation which is not deserving. I guess you could say that I was lucky that I stumbled across the process. Please note that this is not "volunteer" work. I am a media professional donating finished products to a charitable organisation.

        The whole DGR thing can get confusing, I'd recommend you chat to your accountant about it or run a search on the ATO website. It's a little easier than having multiple offshore accounts and reneging on your Australian citizenship to avoid the tax man. This way the tax man pays me back.
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  • Profile picture of the author Quentin
    Monika one word Vanuatu

    Quentin
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