Taxation | Goods & Services Tax the other side of and what they dont bother to say is that its a goverment subsidy tax let the leaders get rich while we spend

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a broad-based tax of 10 per cent on the sale of most goods and services in Australia.

You must register for GST if:

• your business has a GST turnover of $75 000 or more ($150 000 or more for non profit organisations)
• you provide taxi travel as part of your business, regardless of your GST turnover.

You need an Australian Business Number (ABN) to register for GST, as the ABN is part of the GST system. Your ABN will also be your GST registration number.

To register for GST you will need to complete an application. You use the same form and apply for an ABN and other tax registrations at the same time.

If you're registered for GST, you're entitled to claim input tax credits for the GST paid on items you've bought for business use. If you're not registered, you can't claim input tax credits.

Small business GST concessions

If your business has an annual turnover of less that $2 million, you may be able to access the following GST concessions.

Accounting for GST on a cash basis

You can account for GST in the same tax period you receive payments from your customers and claim input tax credits for making payments to your suppliers.

Paying GST by instalments

You can pay GST by instalments each quarter based on what you or the Australian Tax Office (ATO) estimates your GST liability to be. You can vary this amount each quarter.

Annual apportionment of GST input tax credits

You can claim a full input tax credit for a business purchase that you intend to use partly for private purposes and make a single adjustment to account for the private use percentage at the end of your income year.