End of Financial Year What It Means...

So, if you have worked part time, casually and/or full time, you would have been payining through your employer to the Australian Goverment's Australian Tax Office.

The ATO conducts audits on Australian tax payers and it is important to know that to complete an annual tax return each year, to your benefit. The perception of the ATO is they are the 'Bad Guys'.

They are only the 'Bad Guys" if you knowingly have done somehing wrong or dodgey. Everyone is afraid of the response of the ATO once a claim is lodged. The completion of  ATO form at the end of each financial year,  provides fairness of whether each individual has been charged correctly

In my younger years I was getting refunds as when I started any new employment, I was asked whether I want to pay tax as 'single man tax rate' or a 'married mans tax rate'. I did think that it was a silly question to ask as I thought when you are married you pay the 'married mans' tax rate.

I was married and was given the option of choosing  what tax rate I wanted to be charged. The simple explanation I was given is the single man tax rate is taxed at a higher rate than a married mans rate. So, I had decided to pay the 'single mans tax rate'. You may be asking me why I did have done that? The simple reason is it doesnt matter what rate uou use as when you complete your financial tax return, the Australian Tax Office will calculate if you have been overtaxed or undertaxed.

If you are overtaxed based on a 'single mans tax rate' there is more of a chance for a potential refund. If you are undertaxed based on the 'married mans tax rate', you may have to cough up extra tax to be back to the amount to pay back ATO.

Therefor the ATO is a Federal government department that checks this to see if throughout that financial year you have been charged tax, fairly. Which is a good thing. If this wasn't done at all, people would cheat the system.

Tax plays an important role in our lives as it provides our government choices in how to spend our money in improvements to all local communities , through State and Local Governments, providing essential services and infrastructure making our communities a great place to live in.and supporting infrastructure.

In actual fact our tax keeps the economy going -: we pay tax , money gets spent, jobs created and money is spent again.

Click here for Australian Tax Office Details