Frivolous trip to Norfolk Is or eNZed etc just to save Laptop GST?

[BiziBB]

G'day,
A bunch of number crunchers here applaud my little MacBook Air purchase last night.

10% off - and the MacBook Air only landed in the shops a day or two ago.

I'll salary package it, but wonder if there is any way to save 1/11th ($232) through a quick trip to Norfolk Is or NZ?

I'm only joking as even sales wouldn't pay for the tax-back, but it would be fun to know if it were worthwhile on QFF miles or some other way.

Should I move my Emirates flight to March, go in to do the tax then change the date of trvel back to June? If I need a BP then I guess it's too late to change back as effectively I've started that sector.

Ideas? I was planning to buy in NY in early July but when I saw the MacBook Air at the shop, at 10% off, able to be salary packaged and IN STOCK, I had to get it.^

 

[opusman]

Don't you effectively get it GST free if you salary sacrifice it? That's what my accountant's always told me

 

[bambbbam2]

Every place I have worked they have only put the net amount over my salary..

 

[serfty]

Don't you effectively get it GST free if you salary sacrifice it? That's what my accountant's always told me

Only if the the purchased item/service relating the salary sacrifice is for business/employment related purposes.

 

[NM]

Should I move my Emirates flight to March, go in to do the tax then change the date of trvel back to June? If I need a BP then I guess it's too late to change back as effectively I've started that sector.

Ideas? I was planning to buy in NY in early July but when I saw the MacBook Air at the shop, at 10% off, able to be salary packaged and IN STOCK, I had to get it.^

you can only claim the GST back under the traveller scheme by fronting in person with the item and receipt at the counter at an Australian international airport. The counter is airside, so you not only need the boarding pass but also must have cleared immigration processing.

And no, you cannot claim without showing your boarding pass for an international departure, so trying to claim when departing on say QF175 from SYD to BNE on Saturday morning on the way to the FT AGM will not work.

 

[BiziBB]

you can only claim the GST back under the traveller scheme by fronting in person with the item and receipt at the counter at an Australian international airport. The counter is airside, so you not only need the boarding pass but also must have cleared immigration processing.

And no, you cannot claim without showing your boarding pass for an international departure, so trying to claim when departing on say QF175 from SYD to BNE on Saturday morning on the way to the FT AGM will not work.

I did this last month (almost to the day) for the camera lens (in BNE for BNE-SIN).

Just to state the obvious - if I move my SYD-DXB (flexible J ticket) flight to Mar 21, check in, get BP & go airside (for the reason above), it's waaay too late to reschedule that flight for a later date, right?

Or (bear with me) would anyone be heroic enough to do the above and then go back to the Emirates desk and ask to change the March SYD-DXB fare back to June?

 

[Hvr]

Another thing to remeber is that you still have to declare the item when you return if the value is >$900 and maybe even repay the amount refunded if you cannot spread it over another family member or two to cover the total amount, i.e. $900 claim each.


Or maybe as happened to me this morning after I ticked a lot of yesses the customs officer doing initial screening asked me the value of my goods and when I had purchased them, then declared that they had depreciated below the value and no further action was required for it (camera lens).

Sensible and efficient way to deal with things on the margin.

 

[Febs]

Out of curiosity, who's doing the MacBook Air for 10% off? When I was younger and worked for various AppleCentres around Sydney, that was less than cost!

On such a new product too...

Cheers,
- Febs (Mac fan for 20 of his 24 years )

 

[Evan]

O/T but the macbook air with the flash drive is just a silly price ! other vendors also have flash notebooks out there like the 64gb flash option in some HP ultra portables, i cant comment on how good they are.
And the lack of ethernet is a killer for me, simple as that ! i must have wired connections, i work in areas that have no wireless and i hate the usb option.
Battery life if poor

Having said that good on them for trying and i hope they do well, the latte sipping market should be good selling.

And on the topic of flash, i used an air with the hdd and it was a lot faster than i expected, 2gb ram and no large apps helped i guess.

E

 

[simongr]

Don't you effectively get it GST free if you salary sacrifice it? That's what my accountant's always told me

The way this has operated for me was that the GST is claimed by the company and then refunded to the employee, the net purchase price is then taken off your taxable salary and paid to you as a non-taxable amount.

The interesting thing is that you can in theory still then depreciate the laptop through your tax return... it's an odd quirk in the system.

 

[bambbbam2]

apparently the acer x-300 is the new 'air' killer..

 

[simongr]

Any more info? Still not in the market unless I can pursuade our IT guys to get it for me instead of my current laptop (that is not yet back from wine spillage repairs)...

 

[markis10]

apparently the acer x-300 is the new 'air' killer..

The smaller the laptop the easier it is to steal.... having said that I am happy with my Thinkpad X61 that replaced the walking Protege R200, while a little bit heavier I am getting 8 hours of battery life on the standard package, still sub 2kg and usable in a 73H with a seat recliner