I was so excited downloading the eTax 2006 program from the tax office website. Having worked so hard for the past 12 months, minus outstanding salary my old company still owed me, I thought it was payback time. Imagine working 50 hours per week on average, plus two months without any income, and big expenses for the past 8 months. Heard stories from friends that they can claim those tax withheld past the 3 digit figures ($1000+), I was just as excited as everybody else.
But guess what, after all the input and calculation, my tax refundable amount is only $18.40. Gosh, that’s even lower than last year’s mark, which was $38. I thought I would be able to have a little "big feast" in a chinese restaurant, ordering a mud crab. But with $18.40 refund, I can only order 2 serves of fried crabstick.
The reason why I am refunded only $18.40 is because my second job only paid around 3% tax for my income. On average, I’m supposed to pay around 20% of my gross annual income. I start to feel lazy working in my second job. Based on my (quite-accurate) calculation, I’ll only earn around $9.65 per hour nett in my second job.
Sigh, I’m getting slacker. Anyway, another good news is, starting from this financial year, the 30% tax will apply to income between $21,600-$47,000, before it’s taxed 42% from that point onwards. Based on the thinking that it’s quite unlikely I’ll earn more than 47K this financial year, I can rest-assured my "sweat-and-blood" won’t be taxed 42%. Good job, Pete!
gambateh….. jia you….