Bad News - the ATO
Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:09 pmSpoke to a guy tonight who, it turns out, is an accountant with a large firm that provides services to some SANFL clubs.
Apparently, (according to this accountant), the Australian Tax Office (ATO) is very interested in the profit and loss statements of some of the SANFL clubs given that they are not supposed to be profit making entities on the sort of scale that some appear to be at present and may also be auditing the group certificates of players as provided by their employers in conjunction with their group certificates from their football clubs that reflect income solely from playing games. This information will then be evaluated in conjunction with bank statements and standards of living - ie if players are spending more than they officially earn for tax purposes (eg credit cards). ie - the 5 letter 'A' word - audit! I got the feeling it was not so much the players of interest but the club(s), especially if the ATO is concerned that a club(s) is/are issuing group certificates which dont reflect "actual" earnings as measured against expenditure (ie cash).
The accountant was bound by client privilege to keep mum on the particular club or clubs who may be in the ATO spotlight but nonetheless it was a chance conversation that I was very interested in!
I wish Norwood could get that sort of interest from the ATO! No doubt Sturt as well.
Apparently, (according to this accountant), the Australian Tax Office (ATO) is very interested in the profit and loss statements of some of the SANFL clubs given that they are not supposed to be profit making entities on the sort of scale that some appear to be at present and may also be auditing the group certificates of players as provided by their employers in conjunction with their group certificates from their football clubs that reflect income solely from playing games. This information will then be evaluated in conjunction with bank statements and standards of living - ie if players are spending more than they officially earn for tax purposes (eg credit cards). ie - the 5 letter 'A' word - audit! I got the feeling it was not so much the players of interest but the club(s), especially if the ATO is concerned that a club(s) is/are issuing group certificates which dont reflect "actual" earnings as measured against expenditure (ie cash).
The accountant was bound by client privilege to keep mum on the particular club or clubs who may be in the ATO spotlight but nonetheless it was a chance conversation that I was very interested in!
I wish Norwood could get that sort of interest from the ATO! No doubt Sturt as well.
