«

After my recent run-in with the taxman, I have decided to try a new
tack.

I am about to spend a lot of time (the one resource I now have plenty
of) in revamping my Aardvark website.

As well as the existing daily commentary and Net-industry news
aggregation, I'll be adding a raft of other news (general/current
affairs, science, etc), some audio feeds, a significantly enhanced
discussion/forums system, regular new feature articles and reviews,
etc.

All of this will be published completely free of charge and free of
paid advertising.

What I will be doing however, is accepting "monetary gifts" through
the site -- my hope being that people will come to the site and think
to themselves "this guy's working hard and producing something I
consider to be valuable so I'll gift him a little money."

This won't be a donation or a payment -- it will be a gift, as
recently defined to me by the IRD who say it is anything of value
which is given unconditionally and not in return for any service,
product or other consideration.

Although there will be a "gift" button on the website, the
contribution of a gift will in no way entitled the giver to any
product, service or other benefit or entitlement -- hence it will be a
pure gift and tehrefore (according to the IRD themselves) non-taxable.

Also, since I'm not able to be a company director or be self-employed
for the next three years, this will not be a business venture --
simply something to consume my otherwise spare time.

Now the IRD/government has two options here:

1. They can dispute the "gift" status of money given to me through
this website (even though it qualifies by their own definitions as a
gift) and therefore spend even more taxpayer's money testing this in
court -- an action I will defend using taxpayers' money via the legal
aid system)

or

2. They can accept that by doing this I won't need to draw an
unemployment benefit and so the net result of allowing any gifts
received to considered tax-free (as they should be) will result in a
net positive outcome for the taxpayer. One only has to work out how
much I'd receive by way of the dole versus how much would be lost by
not taxing my gifts to see which is the best option for the taxpayer's
pocket.

I figure that if I can create a website that convinces just 2000-3000
people to gift me just $10 a year then I can "survive" without paying
tax and without burdening the taxpayer.

Of course there's also the risk that, even if the site becomes wildly
successful, in terms of traffic and its content, only a handful of
people will choose to send me a gift and I won't be able to survive.
However, I've got to do something with my energies and I'd rather do
something positive that contributes to NZ than just waste away
watching TV and spending other taxpayers' money by way of the dole.

Of course the prospect of filing a tax return in which I show no
taxable income -- but claim enough donations to charitable
organisations that *they* have to send me a cheque has a certain
appeal to it too

What do you think?

Am I wasting my time? Am I poking a tiger with a stick? Should I
simply sit back and enjoy a three-year holiday at the taxpayers'
expense instead?

And what would *you* like to see on the Aardvark website? What would
it take to make Aardvark a regular feature on your bookmark list?

--
you can contact me via http://aardvark.co.nz/contact/

Bruce Simpson wrote:

> This won't be a donation or a payment -- it will be a gift, as
> recently defined to me by the IRD who say it is anything of value
> which is given unconditionally and not in return for any service,
> product or other consideration.

Haven't you heard of gift duty?
You are not allowed to give money away in NZ.
You will pay tax.

Also, deliberate attempts to evade tax will attract severe punishment.

But I think you will deserve it, mainly because you have already declared
an intention to defraud the public purse. And now we all have your IP
address, and it doesn't take a genius to work out who you are.

If you haven't already been bankrupted then I reckon it wont take long.

Bruce, have a look at

www.investigatemagazine.com and the Feb 2000 issue. It looked at NZ tax
issues (well it took US tax issues and gave it a NZ angle).

It's good for a laugh.

"Jay" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Bruce Simpson wrote:
>
> > This won't be a donation or a payment -- it will be a gift, as
> > recently defined to me by the IRD who say it is anything of value
> > which is given unconditionally and not in return for any service,
> > product or other consideration.
>
> Haven't you heard of gift duty?
> You are not allowed to give money away in NZ.
> You will pay tax.
>
> Also, deliberate attempts to evade tax will attract severe punishment.
>
> But I think you will deserve it, mainly because you have already declared
> an intention to defraud the public purse. And now we all have your IP
> address, and it doesn't take a genius to work out who you are.
>
> If you haven't already been bankrupted then I reckon it wont take long.

Oh, grow up!

On Fri, 09 Jan 2004 21:34:58 +1300, Bruce Simpson wrote:


> Although there will be a "gift" button on the website, the
> contribution of a gift will in no way entitled the giver to any
> product, service or other benefit or entitlement -- hence it will be a
> pure gift and tehrefore (according to the IRD themselves) non-taxable.

The fact that you are spending money (hosting fees/ISP fees) to put
information on the website would probably count against you. That could
be seen as a service to your donors. (A bit like busking - which is
taxable).

> Of course the prospect of filing a tax return in which I show no taxable
> income -- but claim enough donations to charitable organisations that
> *they* have to send me a cheque has a certain appeal to it too

I don't think it works like that. I don't think you can claim more than
you pay unless you are a business, and even then they don't send you
money, you can only hold it against a future tax bill.

>
> What do you think?

I hope it works for you, but if you get more than a few thousand dollars
I expect the IRD will investigate.

>
> Am I wasting my time? Am I poking a tiger with a stick? Should I
> simply sit back and enjoy a three-year holiday at the taxpayers' expense
> instead?

There are other alternatives.

>
> And what would *you* like to see on the Aardvark website? What would it
> take to make Aardvark a regular feature on your bookmark list?

Good question! I guess real information that is hard to find anywhere
else. Perhaps statistics that are hard to find for future pointless
usenet arguments (about crime rates, tax rates etc across different
countries).

--
Barry Phease

mailto://
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~barryp

"Jay" <> wrote

> Bruce Simpson wrote:

> > This won't be a donation or a payment -- it will be a gift, as
> > recently defined to me by the IRD who say it is anything of value
> > which is given unconditionally and not in return for any service,
> > product or other consideration.

> Haven't you heard of gift duty?
> You are not allowed to give money away in NZ.
> You will pay tax.

Gift duty is payable by the giver, not the receiver; and
is (as far as I can recall) only payable if the total value
of gifts given by one person exceeds something like
$27,000 in one year.

However it may count as income for tax purposes...
Bruce, you'd better get something in writing from the
IRD (and from someone fairly high up within it) if
you don't want the buggers breathing down your neck.

- Dave
--
Lowering the tone of Usenet since 1997...

Please send replies to New Zealand instead of Zanzibar.
Sorry, but the spam is just getting a little too much...

On Fri, 09 Jan 2004 19:44:06 +1100, Jay <> wrote:

>Bruce Simpson wrote:
>
>> This won't be a donation or a payment -- it will be a gift, as
>> recently defined to me by the IRD who say it is anything of value
>> which is given unconditionally and not in return for any service,
>> product or other consideration.
>
>Haven't you heard of gift duty?
>You are not allowed to give money away in NZ.
>You will pay tax.
>
>Also, deliberate attempts to evade tax will attract severe punishment.
>
>But I think you will deserve it, mainly because you have already declared
>an intention to defraud the public purse. And now we all have your IP
>address, and it doesn't take a genius to work out who you are.
>
>If you haven't already been bankrupted then I reckon it wont take long.
>



Why does he not get a job, like most of us..

> Why does he not get a job, like most of us..

****, that's rich coming from you.

"Mr ACC handout how shall I spend my new large payout ohh should it be a new
video card ??"

At least Bruce doesn't run around claiming he knows everything, unlike you,
you stupid braindead child.

On Fri, 09 Jan 2004 09:55:09 GMT, (Matthew Poole) wrote:

>In article <>, Jay <> wrote:
>>Bruce Simpson wrote:
>*SNIP*
>>Haven't you heard of gift duty?
>I'm sure he has.
>
>>You are not allowed to give money away in NZ.
>Yes, you are. I suggest you look at the laws. There's NOTHING to stop
>you giving money away. I could give money to my cat if I so desired.
>
>>You will pay tax.
>>
>No, he won't. You're not an accountant, or a tax lawyer. You're an
>ex-pat Kiwi (and I'm ashamed of that association) who thinks he knows it
>all but is actually a long way out of his depth.
>
>>Also, deliberate attempts to evade tax will attract severe punishment.
>>
>Only if you're evading tax that should rightfully have been paid.
>Bruce's plan does not attract tax.
>
>>But I think you will deserve it, mainly because you have already declared
>>an intention to defraud the public purse. And now we all have your IP
>>address, and it doesn't take a genius to work out who you are.
>>
>We know who Bruce is. He lives in Whangaparoa (or thereabouts). He's
>an internationally-known inventor, who has unfortunately run afoul of
>the IRD through no real fault of his own.
>
>>If you haven't already been bankrupted then I reckon it wont take long.
>>
>**** you're an asshole. Were you born that way, or did you have to
>practice?



Please overseas readers take no notice of the cretin the biggest mole here.


One of the many Usenet bullies here.

In article <>, Jay <> wrote:
>Bruce Simpson wrote:
*SNIP*
>Haven't you heard of gift duty?
I'm sure he has.

>You are not allowed to give money away in NZ.
Yes, you are. I suggest you look at the laws. There's NOTHING to stop
you giving money away. I could give money to my cat if I so desired.

>You will pay tax.
>
No, he won't. You're not an accountant, or a tax lawyer. You're an
ex-pat Kiwi (and I'm ashamed of that association) who thinks he knows it
all but is actually a long way out of his depth.

>Also, deliberate attempts to evade tax will attract severe punishment.
>
Only if you're evading tax that should rightfully have been paid.
Bruce's plan does not attract tax.

>But I think you will deserve it, mainly because you have already declared
>an intention to defraud the public purse. And now we all have your IP
>address, and it doesn't take a genius to work out who you are.
>
We know who Bruce is. He lives in Whangaparoa (or thereabouts). He's
an internationally-known inventor, who has unfortunately run afoul of
the IRD through no real fault of his own.

>If you haven't already been bankrupted then I reckon it wont take long.
>
**** you're an asshole. Were you born that way, or did you have to
practice?

--
Matthew Poole Auckland, New Zealand
"Veni, vidi, velcro...
I came, I saw, I stuck around"

My real e-mail is mattATp00leDOTnet