UBER DRIVERS MUST BE REGISTERED FOR GST

Generally, a business is not required to register for GST if its annual turnover is less than $75,000. This exemption simplifies compliance for small businesses, and the fiscus is ultimately not significantly affected as these businesses pay GST on their supplies.


However, under s 144-5(1) of the GST Act, an entity is required to be registered for GST if, in carrying on its enterprise, it supplies “taxi travel”. The definition of “taxi travel” was recently challenged in court by Uber, [Uber BV v FC of T 2017 ATC] when they contended that a Uber driver working for a single day did not need to register for GST.

Uber argued that the driver was not supplying “taxi travel” and therefore the general turnover threshold for businesses applied. The court rejected the argument and held that the service provided was in fact “taxi travel” and in terms of s144-5(1) the business is required to be registered from $1 of income.

This pushes up compliance costs for these small business operators, with time and money now having to be spent on lodging BAS returns.

Jewell Moore has several innovative products available to help keep compliance costs down for small business operators such as this. Contact us to find out more!

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