Contributory aged parent visa - Page 3

Alan Collett · 08-02-2007, 02:43 AM

Gill,

It is indeed possible for details of additional income for previous tax years to be advised to the ATO - or for deductions claimed to be "unclaimed". This would though most probably trigger additional tax liabilities and interest charges on late paid tax.

If the Assurer is agreeable to this - and the amendments are sustainable in the event of a challenge by the ATO - then yes, it would be worthwhile seeing an accountant to have tax years for previous tax years amended.

Insofar as having additional information made available to Assurers is concerned, I raised this with the MIA last July time when the changes to the income threshold were announced. With all due respect to the MIA, I was asked by them to be a spokesperson for discussions with the Department of Immigration and to expect to receive details from the MIA as to who I might liaise with. I heard nothing subsequently.

I will nevertheless raise this issue with the CEO of the MIA, with whom I have a fairly direct line - I spoke with him on the telephone only two days ago on a different issue.

Best regards.

luckyhorse · 08-02-2007, 07:20 AM

Many thanks for your replies both Gill and Alan.

We didn't realise it was possible to alter tax advice after the fact and that is the route we are pursuing at the moment.

We have contacted the CO to request an extension, and are seeing a tax accountant to amend the 2005/06 return.

Gollywobbler · 08-02-2007, 11:01 AM

Hi Lou

Check with Centrelink but I suspect that it will not be enough to amend the return just for 2005/6. I suspect 2004/5 would need to be amended as well.

Cheers

Gill

luckyhorse · 09-02-2007, 12:59 AM

hi guys

Thanks so far for your input. It all seems to be resolved now, fingers crossed. My 2004/5 taxable income was well over the threshold as this was prior to any salary sacrificing, and Centrelink agreed I appeared to be on target for 2006/7, so no problem there. I was only short on 2005/6...and by such a tiny amount it wasn't even funny. (I have spent more on lipstick in the last year than this sum)
Anyway, I gave my accountant a bell yesterday and he said 'No problem!' I whizzed round there.He unclaimed one of my deductions, resubmitted the return and hey presto tells me that I'll find a new amended blue TAN in my post box in approximately 14 days.

Would I be correct in thinking there's no law against paying too much tax?

I'm not counting any chickens yet, but I hope this works out. And thanks chaps for the advice. Its been most helpful.

By the way both myself and my partner are communicating under the sign-in name of lucky horse/Lou. he's the hot-headed one :lol:

The Real Lucky Horse

Gollywobbler · 09-02-2007, 02:56 AM

Hi Both

I was just about to go to bed when I decided to check my e-mails and got the notification of your new reply.

It sounds completely sorted to me.

The next step is to keep an eye on Centrelink, I suggest. Their efficiency seems to vary from place to place. I'm in the UK, my sister Elaine is in Perth and Mum was in the UK with me at the time of the Centrelink stuff and the run-up to the grant of her visa, having returned from Oz a month before her CP visa was granted.

Elaine went to the Centrelink interview on a Thursday and they agreed that the figures were OK. In some places, they print, sign and hand over the letter for the Bank on the spot but at the main Centrelink office in Perth they said they would write to Elaine,

We gave them till Tuesday and then we both chased them. They said they had written to Elaine the day before, authorising her to deposit the Bond. Come that Friday, this letter - which only had to go about 25kms - had not arrived.

Elaine went back to Centrelink, told them that the letter hadn't arrived but that she was on her way to the bank to deal with the Bond, so could she please have a copy of the letter that was in the post. The Bank accepted the copy so all was well there. Elaine got the receipts from the Bank before she left (don't put up with, "We will post them" from the Bank.) She took the receipts back to Centrelink but only got there just before they closed for the weekend.

Elaine also sent the money for the 2nd instalment by registered post on that Friday. The POPC got that on the Monday. There is actually no real need to footle about with waiting for the CO to write and ask for the money etc etc.

On the next Wednesday, Elaine chased Centrelink again to find out whether they had sent the OK to DIAC. The girl supposed that they must have done, since her computer confirmed that Centrelink weere satisfied. Well - we weren't because the promised letter from them had still not arrived over a week after it has been posted.

I agreed with Elaine that as it was Wednesday evening in Perth by the time she & I spoke but only lunchtime in the UK, I would give Centrelink a bit more slumber and then I would hit them bright & early on Thursday morning their time. I got confirmation that they had sent the OK to DIAC but it was not going to reach the POPC till Friday.

Seemingly, Centrelink do some kind of data-transfer to the DIAC computer by way of the OK. Nothing to simple as an e-mail to a CO whose own office is probably in the same street! This data-transfer thing is uploaded to the DIAC mainframe - in Canberra. This contraption only does data uploads and downloads during the night, it appears.

So - Centrelink in Perth do the bit with the data on Wednesday. It gets transmitted to Canberra that night. The following night, the thing in Canberra sends this data to its own sub-contraption back in Perth. God knows whether the Centrelink mainframe works in a similar fashion.

I waited till Friday in Perth and e-mailed the CO since Elaine was out all that day. She was a darling. She replied within a couple of hours confirming that she had received the OK and had granted the visa.

However, the promised letter authorising Elaine to deposit the Bond did not drop into Elaine's letter-box till the Thursday AFTER Mum's visa had been granted. Even more curiously in a conversation when the posted letter finally reached Elaine, Elaine told me, "They say they have written to me confirming that they have sent the OK to the POPC. But that letter is coming from Queensland, so God knows when it will arrive."

Why on EARTH are Centrelink in Perth writing letters that get posted in Queensland? If you ring them about an AoS you start off with a call centre in Tasmania where they have not got a clue so you persist and get transferred to their Manager - in Sydney. Who transfers the call to Perth - the people I wanted to collar in the first place. Meanwhile the letters get posted from Queensland! "Where is your AoS?" "All over Australia," apparently.

It is the most bizarre system I've ever encountered and on the forums, time and again I have watched people waiting week upon week for these wretched letters to wend their way around, with the Assurers posting receipts back to Centrelink instead of marching in with them and standing over the staff.

I don't know about you but by the time we got to the final bits of the jig-saw Elaine and I were so fed up with the whole process that we were simply not prepared to let it drag on for any longer than was absolutely unavoidable.

It costs A$150 to open the Bond account by the way and it pays interest every six months. I don't kow the rate yet because our Bond was deposited on 8 September 2006 so we won't get the first lot of interest just yet. I don't know whether you can have the interest added on to the capital or whether it has to be paid out.

Hope this is of some value, though. Please keep in touch and let me know how it goes, won't you?

Cheers

Gill