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« on: June 08, 2010, 02:28:22 AM »
Country fire volunteers left burnt by tax ruling
AdelaideNow 08 June 2010
COUNTRY fire brigades are set to lose out because the Tax Office has withdrawn their tax-free status, ruling that the volunteer organisations do not relieve "suffering, distress, misfortune . . . or helplessness" in their role.
The Australian Tax Office says brigades are not "public benevolent institutions".
The Country Fire Service Volunteers Association has branded the decision "petty and small minded" .
It added Federal Government changes to protect them from the ruling still left volunteers out of pocket. The changes mean brigades cannot employ helpers for cleaning duty or for paperwork, nor can they use tax breaks of up to $7000 per person to make the salary packages more attractive.
" They have been gunning for this for two years," association executive director Wendy Shirley said.
The ruling will not affect donations because the Federal Government created a loophole to thwart the ATO when it tried to make donations liable to tax in February.
Ms Shirley said the administrative burden for government paperwork like station audits fell on volunteers but brigades were increasingly keen on getting paid staff to help ease the workload.
South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon has written to the Commissioner of Taxation to complain that the ruling - that brigades were not charities because they did not relieve "poverty, sickness, suffering, distress, misfortune, disability or helplessness" - is illogical because all of these things could result in bushfires if firefighters didn't volunteer.
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