Taxing time in Cabramatta

By MATT WADE smh (6/7/2000)

Ms Ngoc Do was on her mobile phone behind the counter of her Cabramatta fast food shop yesterday haggling with one of her suppliers.

She had just received an invoice that did not show an ABN and she was explaining that she would not pay the bill until it was GST compliant.

"Otherwise I cannot claim back any of my GST input costs," she said.

Before the introduction of the GST, community leaders in south-western Sydney had warned that shopkeepers and restaurant owners with limited English would struggle with the new system. And businesses in Cabramatta are experiencing problems in the transition period.

Mr Richard Tran, whose family owns the Eastland Asian supermarket a few doors from Ms No's shop, said many of their suppliers do not have ABNs and he has told them he will be withholding 48.5 per cent of any invoice they provide.

"Some of them don't understand the GST system," he said. "Others were very late registering for an ABN and they have not got one yet."

Ms Ping Ci Thai, who runs a nearby craft and variety shop said business was the worst it had been in seven years, forcing her to leave all her prices unchanged - a strategy that will eat into her profits when she has to
pay her first GST instalment to the Government. "I have been told 99 per cent of the things in my shop have GST so it will be difficult. I'm worried because I have to pay the rent," she said.

Government agencies have blitzed non-English-speaking communities with information about the new tax in the past month including advertisements in the ethnic media, talkback sessions on SBS Radio and special seminars.

But Councillor Thang Ngo, who represents Cabramatta on Fairfield Council, believes many business people in the area will be in for a shock when they have to start passing on the GST. "I'm worried many businesses are not keeping adequate records and that they do not understand the full implications of the system," he said. "The real test will come when they have to make their first tax instalment in October."

A spokeswoman for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Ms Lyn Enright, said it was not aware of any non-compliance by businesses owned by those with poor English skills but would be lenient if it found business people had made honest mistakes.