# Tax, Taxi and taxi zone



## UBER66 (Feb 7, 2017)

So the Australian tax office says that I am a TAXI and must be registered for GST even if under the threshold.

Road rules say I can't stop or pick up from a taxi zone in NSW



Sorry can't post links I am a newbie


----------



## UBER66 (Feb 7, 2017)

ACT TAXI ZONE


----------



## UBER66 (Feb 7, 2017)

Victoria


----------



## UBER66 (Feb 7, 2017)

South Australia


----------



## UBER66 (Feb 7, 2017)

Western Australia


----------



## Jack Malarkey (Jan 11, 2016)

The Australian Taxation Office has determined that we provide 'taxi services' as defined in the GST legislation for GST purposes.

This is irrelevant to whether we drive taxis for road traffic law purposes under state and territory legislation.


----------



## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

Different laws can define the same term in different ways. A vehicle can be a "taxi" for tax purposes, but not a "taxi" for road rules purposes.


----------



## χ²(1) (Jun 1, 2016)

UBER66 said:


> So the Australian tax office says that I am a TAXI and must be registered for GST even if under the threshold.


Correct


> Road rules say I can't stop or pick up from a taxi zone in NSW


Correct


----------



## Instyle (Oct 18, 2014)

χ²(1) said:


> Correct
> 
> Correct


Cleared that up pretty quickly


----------



## UBER66 (Feb 7, 2017)

National road rules say I am a TAXI due to ATO saying I am a taxi.

REG 182 says I can stop in a Taxi Zone and drop and pick up.


----------



## Jack Malarkey (Jan 11, 2016)

UBER66 said:


> National road rules say I am a TAXI due to ATO saying I am a taxi.
> 
> REG 182 says I can stop in a Taxi Zone and drop and pick up.


No you can't. You're not driving a taxi for the purposes of the Australian Road Rules. See what everyone above has said.


----------



## UBER66 (Feb 7, 2017)

NSW rules say I can't 
National road rules 182 says a Taxi can 
ATO says I am a TAXI 

Once someone gets booked for dropping off and picking up it would be interesting to see the official response.


----------



## χ²(1) (Jun 1, 2016)

UBER66 said:


> National road rules say I am a TAXI due to ATO saying I am a taxi.


No. Your law interpretation is wrong.

Two different independent laws cover two different independent areas.


----------



## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

χ²(1) said:


> No. Your law interpretation is wrong.
> 
> Two different independent laws cover two different independent areas.


He _might_ have a point actually. If one of the screenshots he posted is correct "Note: 'Taxi' is defined in the dictionary", then that is the essence of the ATOs argument for why we don't get the $75K threshold. Personally, I'd verify this applies in my jurisdiction and await the outcome of the pending GST case before relying on this to stop in a taxi zone without fear of being fined.


----------



## Jack Malarkey (Jan 11, 2016)

UberDriverAU said:


> He _might_ have a point actually. If one of the screenshots he posted is correct "Note: 'Taxi' is defined in the dictionary", then that is the essence of the ATOs argument for why we don't get the $75K threshold. Personally, I'd verify this applies in my jurisdiction and await the outcome of the pending GST case before relying on this to stop in a taxi zone without fear of being fined.


'Dictionary' here does not mean an ordinary dictionary like the Macquarie, Oxford or Webster. The 'dictionary' for the Australian Road Rukes is the definition and interpretation section of the Australian Road Rules.

See the definition of 'taxi' in http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_reg/rr2014104/sch99.html. You will see it's not compatible with a rideshare vehicle.


----------



## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

Jack Malarkey said:


> 'Dictionary' here does not mean an ordinary dictionary like the Macquarie, Oxford or Webster. The 'dictionary' for the Australian Road Rukes is the definition and interpretation section of the Australian Road Rules.
> 
> See the definition of 'taxi' in http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_reg/rr2014104/sch99.html. You will see it's not compatible with a rideshare vehicle.


That's why I said he _might_ have a point. Upon further inspection, yes, there is a "dictionary" attached to these NSW regulations, and it actually highlights the point I made earlier. Even within these regulations, the meaning of "taxi" is not uniform, and in most sections "taxi" includes "private hire vehicle":



> *"taxi" *means a motor vehicle (other than a bus) licensed as a taxi-cab under the _Passenger Transport Act 1990 _and, other than in rule 182, includes the following:
> 
> (a) except as provided by paragraph (b), a private hire vehicle,
> 
> ...


It seems pretty clear though, that in NSW an Uber driver is not allowed to stop in a Taxi Zone. That doesn't mean it will be same elsewhere, but I suspect that it will be the case.


----------



## yogi bear (Dec 25, 2015)

the ATO taxes prostitutes too, regardless of the local prostitution laws in your state or territory..


----------



## fields (Jul 11, 2016)

It is beyond ridiculous we cannot drop off in a taxi zone.


----------



## yogi bear (Dec 25, 2015)

why? maybe thats a perk that people pay the extra $1.00 a km for..


----------



## χ²(1) (Jun 1, 2016)

fields said:


> It is beyond ridiculous we cannot drop off in a taxi zone.


Drop off should be allowed.....but as the saying goes "if you give an inch, they'll take a mile". Uber drivers will want to park, wait and pickup fares in taxi zones as well. This last option is unworkable and un-policeable.


----------



## Jack Malarkey (Jan 11, 2016)

Word buffs may be interested in the fact that the words 'tax' and 'taxi' have the same etymology.

The Wikipedia article for 'Taxicab' includes an explanation under the heading 'Etymology' (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicab).

The origins of the word were canvassed in the recent GST litigation and will no doubt be reflected in the judgments.

Extract from Wikipedia:

Harry Nathaniel Allen of The New York Taxicab Company, who imported the first 600 gas-powered New York City taxicabs from France in 1907, borrowed the word "taxicab" from London, where the word was in use by early-1907.[1]

Taxicab" is a compound word formed from contractions of "taximeter" and "cabriolet". "Taximeter" is an adaptation of the German word _taxameter,_ which was itself a variant of the earlier German word, "Taxanom."[2] "Taxe" (pronounced, tax-eh) is a German word meaning "tax," "charge," or "scale of charges."[3] The Medieval Latin word, "taxa," also means _tax_ or _charge._ "Taxi" may ultimately be attributed to _τάξις_ from _τάσσω_[4]meaning 'to place in a certain order' in Ancient Greek, as in commanding an orderly battle line,[5] or in ordaining the payment of taxes,[6] to the extent that 'taxidi'/'ταξίδι' now meaning 'journey' in Greek initially denoted an orderly military march or campaign. _Meter_ is from the Greek _metron_ (μέτρον) meaning measure.[7] A "cabriolet" is a type of horse-drawn carriage, from the French word "cabrioler" ("leap, caper"), from Italian "capriolare" ("to jump"), from Latin "capreolus" ("roebuck", "wild goat").


----------



## Numb (Feb 1, 2017)

UBER66 said:


> So the Australian tax office says that I am a TAXI and must be registered for GST even if under the threshold.
> 
> Road rules say I can't stop or pick up from a taxi zone in NSW
> 
> Sorry can't post links I am a newbie


You are not driving a Taxi; you are not registered as a Taxi; you have no markings or signage or markings denoting you are driving your personal car providing pre booked trips to a paying customer. What are classed as Taxi business by the tax office merely so you you can be put into a classification for GST and tax purposes.

How you are defined under state legislation is a totally different thing.


----------



## george manousaridis (Jan 27, 2017)

yogi bear said:


> the ATO taxes prostitutes too, regardless of the local prostitution laws in your state or territory..


WELL!!!!So glad someone mentioned PROSTITUTES!!!lol Ask what Uber Drivers are? LOL


----------



## george manousaridis (Jan 27, 2017)

Jack Malarkey said:


> Word buffs may be interested in the fact that the words 'tax' and 'taxi' have the same etymology.
> 
> The Wikipedia article for 'Taxicab' includes an explanation under the heading 'Etymology' (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicab).
> 
> ...


Intelligence here !!!


----------

