Taxi industry - issues register

Record keeping

01/07/08	What information, apart from what is currently kept, does a driver have to keep? Pay-in after a shift? Petrol? Tolls? Non-interpretative - straight application of the law.	Like income tax, you need to record or get receipts for all your costs (for example, fuel, tolls, insurance, etc). If a business expense is more than $82.50 including GST, you require a tax invoice before you are able to claim an input tax credit. The tax invoice identifies the GST amount included in the price of goods and services or a statement to the effect that the total amount payable includes GST for the supply or supplies. You also need to keep a summary sheet of your fares during your shift. After each shift, you are able to calculate the GST amount. All this information is requested on your activity statement.
28/03/13	What are the requirements in relation to tax invoices? Is GST separately identified? Non-interpretative - straight application of the law.	A tax invoice issued by a driver to a business passenger must contain sufficient information for the following to be clearly ascertained: the driver's ABN if the total price of the supply or supplies is at least $1000, the recipient's identity or ABN    that the document is intended as a tax invoice the date of issue of the document   the identity of the driver, or their state/territory taxi driver's accreditation number a brief description of the supply, for taxi travel this could be the pick-up point and the destination   the GST amount payable in relation to the fare. Since the GST amount is exactly one-eleventh of the fare, this can be shown as either a statement that the total amount payable includes GST the total amount of GST payable. Drivers should remember that they are required to provide a tax invoice to passengers if requested. Drivers should also remember to obtain tax invoices for their own business expenses if those expenses include GST and the amount paid is over $82.50 including GST.
28/03/13	Does a taxi driver need to include his or her name on a tax invoice that they issue?	This issue has been withdrawn. The Commissioner's discretion to treat a document as a tax invoice can now only be exercised when a request is made to the Commissioner, based on the particular facts and circumstances of each individual request. To maintain certainty for taxpayers, the Commissioner has issued a legislative instrument under subsection 29-10(3) of the GST Act that will in particular circumstances waive the requirement for recipients to hold a tax invoice when attributing an input tax credit to a tax period for a creditable acquisition of taxi travel. This instrument has a date of effect of 1 July 2010. As a result, taxpayers will not have to change their software or accounting systems to comply with the new legislative instrument.
18/07/00	How are EFTPOS machines in taxis affected by GST?	The service fee charged in connection with the use of an EFTPOS machine in a taxi relates to a supply made by the credit provider. Taxi drivers are not required to account for GST on the charge as the supply is not made by them.