Does anyone use etax?

[ten*teeny*tiny*toes]

What's with the compulsory mygov thing? Turns out you can bypass it by typing taxhelp as the mygov username (then hit prefill). It takes you to the familiar NOA or secret questions for verification as it used to be done in previous years. Needed it for lodgement as well. I wasted a few hours today - if I can save one person I will be happy 

[fourandsixpants]

How many Govt Ministers do their tax using etax? If not, why not?

[green.fields]

all online and easy 'peasy' for the govt to have direct access to ALL your info

They already have all your info.

E-tax is no problem for the average taxpayer.

[fourandsixpants]

yes but would you not agree - relieves govt of all their admin work? Has the tax dept been culled to the point where they cannot process manual income tax applications in a timely manner - one wonders

[fiestas*girl]

As a senior tax accountant, I can assure you tax agents are NOT a waste of money

I am not going to defend my profession or answer tax related questions on this forum

you can go to h&r schlock if you want to be treated like a peice of emat on a conveyor belt or I pee T

or if you want friendly professional advice and future tax planning go and see the real professionals

[fiestas*girl]

 As for Etax, i am not a fan, i have never been able to easily navigate around that program...no kidding

give me a real tax program anyday

[fourandsixpants]

Hope you don't think I am anti tax agents.....cos I am all for them

I know that the income tax 'rules' change all the time and you have to be in the profession and be 'on the ball' in order to be up with the latest rulings. I only agreed that ITP and blockheads were a good option because they are relatively cheap and suitable for those people who have a simple return to do but I do concede that a there are probably better tax agents out there.....like yourself. I view tax agents like lawyers and solicitors i.e. you usually get the expertise that you pay for.

[imastawka]

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@am*3 wrote:
Stawka - only if ithe onesie is compulsory uniform in your (paid) workplace and has your work logo on it. 😉

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 Well, I wear it in my loungroom when working on-line.                 

So I guess I have to have the store logo imprinted on it?              

Etax is fine if you have a group certificate.

Being a seller on-line is too confusing.  I can't keep up            

Ooo, I do have t-shirts with store logo - winner

[cherry*135]

Paints wrote :yes but would you not agree - relieves govt of all their admin work? Has the tax dept been culled to the point where they cannot process manual income tax applications in a timely manner - one wonders

No, I would not agree. Electronic processing of tax returns is a lot more quicker and more efficient than using manual paper ones. Less staff in a Govt Dept = lower wage bill = less cost to taxpayers.

Do we not want our Govt Depts to be more efficient and cut costs, which in this case, offering etax which benefits taxpayers who choose to use it. Tax refunds are received much quicker than they used to be.

We live in a technological age. Why should the ATO not evolve from sending out every taxpayer a paper tax pack every year, then receive those paper tax returns back and have paid staff manually checking them and processing the returns. Takes a lot of time, paper, delivery costs of tax packs, and salary costs.

etax is not compulsory. People can use a tax agent or still send in a paper return.
Shouldn't govt depts aim to be more efficient and keep their costs down??

[cherry*135]

tttt - thanks for the info. I think the mygov log in should be optional. Especially when there are technical issues as below.

Jul 3
The Tax Office has been hit by a technical issue which prevents people lodging tax returns and accessing other essential government services online.

The issue is related to this year's mandatory requirement for taxpayers to use a myGov login when lodging returns online. The myGov site is a portal the federal government created as a single log-in for all its services.

[green.fields]

Our accountant does ours, I honestly don't think I'd like any of those walk in 20 min places whether you have an easy or hard tax return.