INTHEBLACK July 2022 - Magazine - Page 38
GET SMART
// TA X T I M E Q U I Z
17th century French Finance Minister
Jean-Baptiste Colbert famously
observed that the art of taxation
involves:
01
A. “So plucking the goose as to obtain the
largest possible amount of feathers with the
smallest possible amount of hissing.”
B. “Brutally punishing the makers of
bad wine, tasteless cheese and illfitting petticoats to drive them from the
marketplace.”
C. “Annually guillotining a few petite
bourgeoise merchants to encourage the
landed gentry towards scrupulous honesty.”
Tax deduction enthusiast Gary Ogden
and his accountant David McNeice
achieved notoriety a decade ago by
attempting to claim the following as work
expenses:
02
TEST YOUR TAX
KNOWLEDGE
It’s that time of year when Australians
from all walks of life do their utmost
to test their accountants’ skills at
maximising tax deductions. How does
your tax knowledge stack up?
QUIZ BY NIGEL BOWEN
38 ITB July 2022
A. A$20,000 for a family member’s wedding
that business associates were invited to,
A$1350 in gambling losses incurred while
playing the pokies with a client and a
Chewbacca costume purchased for a business
networking event.
B. A$7000 for an “emotional-support”
poodle, A$15,500 of Cabernet Sauvignon
used to relieve work-related stress and
A$6876 of “business entertainment
expenses” incurred at Show Girls Cabaret.
C. A$5000 of secretarial services paid to Mr
Ogden’s seven-year-old son for occasionally
answering his phone, A$838 of “overtime
meals”, many of which were consumed at
the local leagues club, a static electricitydispersing pair of rubber-soled R.M. Williams
shoes and a Dora the Explorer pencil case.
03
American businesswoman Leona
Helmsley’s best-known quote is:
A. “We don’t pay taxes; only the
little people pay taxes.”
B. “If anybody in this country doesn’t
minimise their tax, they want their head