Green Handshakes - Taxable income in Australia (page 2)

NotFormer

"Third-world countries don’t tax people on this."

Since the above tax office ruling classifies gifts to missionaries as assessible income, I imagine any JW sent from NY Bethel* to Australia as a "missionary"** would be taxed as a foreign worker. Which would mean that they wouldn't even qualify for the tax free threshold of $18200 (mentioned by joey JoJo above), but should be paying 32¢ in the dollar from dollar one.

But the consensus in this thread seems to be that all these "gifts" end up being under the table, "black economy" transactions. So much for "render unto Caesar"! 🙄

*As an example. Would JWs classified as "missionaries" even come to Australia?

**Does this happen when a high ranking Bethelite is sent out here: are they classified as "missionaries"?

fulano

“ But the consensus in this thread seems to be that all these "gifts" end up being under the table, "black economy"”

I think you are right. In all my years in full-time service I never met a missionary, CO or bethelite that even would think of declaring gifts.

Listener

Fulani, it wouldn’t surprise me. I guess the Watchtower doesn’t assist them in the matter of taxes either. Their motto is to get out of the Government every advantage that you can and to go looking for them, regardless of whether they become a burden to society.

NotFormer

Just out of curiosity (any answer is going to be anecdotal and speculative, but here goes), just how much is a green handshake worth? Would it be $100 here and there per congregation, or would it be multiple envelopes stuffed with cash? 🤔

TonusOH

I have no idea how much they got per visit, but I know my mother always tried to give the traveling overseer $20 whenever they were spending the week at our congregation, and I am sure she is far from the only one.

Whether they declared any of it, or how they handled it tax-wise, I have no clue.

hoser

They could amass quite a sum after many years in the travelling work

LongHairGal

FEDUPJW & FULANO:

I observed when I was in the JWs an undercurrent of saying things were a ‘conscience matter’ with regard to an individual paying taxes.

Somebody like myself who worked at a regular job had taxes taken out of my paycheck by my employer. However, those people in the congregation who ‘worked for themselves’ whether cleaning or other..were on the ‘honor system’ as to reporting taxes. The whispers I heard indicated that many were not so upright as to reporting how much money they made.

For those JWs who were not so honest about reporting their taxes all through the years: ..it has come back to bite them in the end with a pathetically low Social Security payment!!

blondie

LongHairGal: And jws with their own businesses with jw employee and failed to take out taxes from their employees gross and send to feds and state and 5 years later the employee gets stuck with paying it. One case, husband and wife owed total of $6,000 to come up with immediately

Ugot2bekiddingme1

Though my younger life as a Jw, I worked for some Jw's that had businesses. My experience with working with Jw's is a horrible. Most of them were cheapskates and did most outlandish things not to pay taxes.

LongHairGal

BLONDIE:

I had heard a similar story years back of a JW who worked and their employer supposedly did not take out taxes and pay the fed or state.

It didn’t occur to me that this could have been a Witness employer… So I don’t know.. When I hear about all the horror stories involving Witnesses (stories I know about and others I heard of), it is positively shameful and I don’t know how they can call themselves moral people. They justify a lot of garbage with their convoluted beliefs.

I learned to stay away.

Green Handshakes - Taxable income in Australia

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