Tax in Australia

[Crocodile Dundee]

Hey

Me and some other poker players are thinking about moving down to Australia but we are unsure of the tax situation and the risk of having to pay. Looking for more knowledge.

thanks

[boreemax]

funny place to be looking for knowledge, hope you find some.

[Yorkshire Pudding]

Do you have an Australian visa? A friend of mine moved to Oz two years ago, he's a professional MTT player, and although his wife had Australian citizenship he had to say he was in IT rather a pro poker player in fear of not being allowed in.

A number of iPoker sites, including William Hill, no longer service Australian players too so the immediate future of the game is uncertain

[C_Bomb]

the risk of having to pay.

Why don't you want to pay taxes in a country that will be allowing you to earn a living sitting in your underwear all day?

If you don't want to pay tax then don't come IMO

[Yorkshire Pudding]

Why don't you want to pay taxes in a country that will be allowing you to earn a living sitting in your underwear all day?

This made me LOL!

[Whywait]

Look it's like any form of gambling in Australia, it is tax exempt. But as soon as it is your primary form of income, then it will be subject to taxation, where you can even claim your losses against your winnings, much like running your own business. The only tax you will never have to pay is the state G.S.T (normally 1/11th of your turnover). What defines your primary source of income would be; if it is your only source of income, or if it is consistently more than what you earn as a wage/salary as an employee.

You can get away not paying any tax, but as soon as you wish to purchase expensive things like luxury cars and houses with large initial deposits or buy outright, or pay of too quickly, your income source may be subject to an investigation and the Australian taxation department will chase you for missed taxation payments estimated on their calculations.

If you're really serious and good at what you do, you would look at creating a Pty Ltd company and employing yourself within that company (you will pay less tax this way). Get an accountant or bookkeeper but bear in mind that as the director(s) you are solely responsible that your records are accurate and correct. Good luck

[dr_protocol]

Visas (outside purely tourist-only) are harder to get year by year.
Emigration is virtually impossible unless you have specific skills in medicine, engineering or science.
Few poker games in detention centres.
Chances of a dim-witted, under-cashed poker player just lobbing into the country on their own personal whim? A big fat zero.
Go off to uni and get a PhD and try again.

[Dany F]

You should be aware not only about the visa ( which become harder to get lately ) , but also about the fact that casino earnings can be taxed differently ( which you initially asked ). So if i were you i would relocate myself..

Australia might be a good place for players, but at the same time, a hard place to get.