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I have a yard full of "collectibles". Most others view my "collectibles" as "junk". I just have to convince the ATO when I make a killing selling one of my "collectibles", that it's not taxable! 😄

It must be a case of the squeaky wheel getting the oil. My energy retailer has been giving me a run around for a week or more regarding an estimated bill. They've gone the way of a lot of companies with team leaders, working groups and all sorts of titles and jargon. The end result is that to fit all this stuff into their operation, something had to go, and that something is common sense. Emails have been bouncing back and forth for a while now, thanking me for my patience and promising that the working group will look into it. I emailed them last night and told them that patience was running out and I would start looking at changing retailers if their billing department couldn't resolve the issue. This morning I received a revised bill of $0, so they've waived the bill by crediting my account with the bill amount.

The only CGT I have first-hand experience of was on the sale of my house on 44 acres. As has been discussed on this forum in the past, there is a rule that you are liable for CGT on everything over 5 acres (2 Hectares). Unlike CGT on collectables, you are legally allowed to do the valuation yourself (but you may need to show your workings out). The exempt 5 acres need not be one parcel of land, so you choose all the most valuable bits to exempt. In my case, the house and infrastructure (water tanks, septic tanks, etc. and a strip of river frontage. I then was able to deduct the cost of ownership (rates etc maitanance of fences and other things). I was able to aggressively (but legally - I think) whittle the CGT bill down to $1500. I did half expect a please explain letter; however, it never came, and 9 years later, it is too late for them, unless they detect out-and-out fraud. I did plenty of research, and I actually found in an obscure place a tax department internal document that listed the conditions that trigger an audit with regard to land sales, so I felt on safe ground. The thing is, compared to some people selling land, my case was pretty trivial. It does not really make sense for ATO to spend vast sums of money detecting the sale 1 watch or piece of jewellery in a private sale. This is not tax advice!

In practice, for the ordinary person, I suspect it will be difficult to enforce. A CGT already exists; it is just the method of calculation and valuation that has changed (as far as I can see). If Onetrack sells me some of his lovely junk, how would the ATO even know? Since I have been downsizing, I have sold many possessions, mostly they have lost value, but some musical instruments have gained in value and are probably subject to CGT. Pretty hard to detect, though.

The proposed capital gains tax changes on collectibles will affect many ordinary people. Most of us have something collectible, and if it is over $500 we will be caught. This year I donated a collection to a museum. I paid around $1000 for it forty years ago and I think it is now worth around $20,000. I thought I could get it valued for a tax deduction and approached two valuers. They both told me that their fees would be higher than the deduction. A collection would need to be worth $50,000 to make it worthwhile. I should have sold it, but I had already donated it.the museum was very happy to get it. That is an unusual story, but the government will drag household jewellery, watches and so on into needing a start valuation on 30 June next year.

I agree there octave. People selling small items are probably not going to come under scrutiny. More likely if you sell a large valuable coin or jewellery collection in one lot. A bit like centrelink with applications for pension or income support. Technically you are supposed to list the value of personal items and I'd say most people undervalue or don't list them at all. That's accepted and I've never heard of anyone getting an audit of their personal items.

Farq.. I agree with PM.. it will bring a lot of ordinary people into the net. $500 is not a lot these days and unless you can prove what you have bought is used on a frequent basis, it will be classed as a collectible and if you sell it as yiu don't use it anymore and you make a profit, you pay. But if you make a loss, you can only offset that loss against other gains on collectibles you sell within the tax year.. not even other CGT payable assets let alone your total assemble tax. This is what I call pernicious tax... And Google tells me thar the official rate of inflation isn't taken into account, but some formula applied by the ATO, which is usually lower than the inflation rate. This is what I call a pernicious tax or a money grab. There is a carve out for personal use, but you have to prove it and it cant be occasional; it has to be frequent.. In theory, that jewellery necklace bought for wearing on the wedding day and only dragged out for special occasions will he caught.. so yeah, it will affect a lot of ordinary people.

What came first..the chicken or the egg? Neither ..the Rooster did.

Which side Looks after the Rich the most?. Nev

While the Govt tries to exact small amounts of tax on collectable items hoarded by working class individuals, they let global corporations and billionaires get away with paying bugger-all tax on multi-million dollar profits, because it's "too hard" to stop their innovative and devious loophole-finding tax arrangements.

PM, are you saying that the change is regarding the need for a valuation? CGT on items like jewellery has existed for a long time, but are there specific changes regarding the method of determining its value?

"The more things change, the more they stay the same". Originally coined by French critic Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr in 1849, as "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose".

Approximately 209 million people were registered to vote in the 2020 presidential election and 158,427,986 ballots were submitted for president (75.8% of registered voters).

I don’t want to see blokes in women’s mud wrestling.

Trump beat Kamala Harris by only 1.5% of the popular vote. The electoral college system is the reason he got in easily with 312 votes compared to Harris's 226. Only a few thousand votes in a couple of swing states could have seen Harris the winner. Their system is corrupt and skewed by vested political interests. The US was considered a flawed democracy before the 2024 election & sits at No 34 on the World democracy index well below the threshold to be considered a full democracy. Now it is almost an autocracy under Trump. The average American seems to accept this as OK but the real test will be the Mid term elections later this year.

All sides They all have people lobbying talking bribes with them. Do you really believe different

I don't know how this compares withother hospitals, but when I went for my heart imaging today, I had to go through the doorway of the emergency dept at Knox Private to get to the lift. A notice on the door stated that the fee for using the ED was $470, paid on the day.

They would need to double or triple the size of the audit teams to be able to deal with the amount of "collectibles" of modest value, that regularly change hands. So much of it is done in cash transactions.

In my situation the majority of my aviation collection has come from overseas, so there has been a postage and freight component to the total cost. Also since the government scrapped the $1,000 exemption on paying GST on imported goods, there's a 10% GST component in the total cost, which is 10% of the cost of the item + postage + any customs fees. When working out the cost of the item for determining a capital gain or loss, does the tax department go by the cost of the item only or that plus all other costs incurred.

Yes, that's it thanks. And my experience is that the valuer has to be a recognised valuer by the tax department, and they charge a fortune. So, in the past you could just work from what you had paid but in June next year you may need a valuation that you can't afford. Or just cop it on the chin. And I don't know what a collectible is in general, what about that bloke who restores army tanks?

I believe the spelling is Eligible. ? I'd have More sympathy for the People of the USA if more of them cared a bit for "the Rest of the World" and not just their own profits. Unilaterally withdrawing from agreements IS pretty Poor form by anyone. Who can be trusted after doing that? What's YOUR word worth? .Nev

Finke is a free for all but they still have a womens class, which by the way i think is a great thing. Love seeing women compete in things like motorcycle riding. Tried to get my daughter into it a bit, she can ride but was more academic type.

No. I feel sorry for all Americans whose ability to celebrate an milestone in their country's history has been diminished by the effects of Trump's policies. I reckon that the ability for celebration belongs to every one of them.

And how is that looking so far? As I understand it, the memorandum of understanding which lasts for 60 days, does not include handing over nuclear materials. It does seemingly involve unfreezing billions dollars of assets for the Iranians. I also understand that the Iranians have not ruled out charging tolls for ships using the Strait of Hormuz. Then there is regime change. This has not occurred, but several leaders have been killed, and it is believed their replacements are even harder line. The US has squandered its arsenal of weapons such as the Tomahawk Missile, which will take years to replenish. https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/us-indefinitely-suspends-tomahawk-japan#:~:text=The United States has indefinitely,day U.S. assault on Iran. "The United States has indefinitely suspended the delivery of Japan’s first 400 RGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles, due to serious shortages of the missiles in the U.S. Navy that have resulted from the 39 day U.S. assault on Iran. " It would be a great time for China to take Taiwan. But I guess if Americans are feeling down because of increasing healthcare costs, high petrol prices, etc. I am sure they are massively cheered up by the bulldozing of the East Wing to build that big, Beautiful Ballroom to be used by the ultra-rich. MMmmmm you've got to love all that gold leaf. I bet they they cant wait for the Arch De Trump or to get their first $250 bill with the dear leader's face on. I am sure they are so proud of the immense intelligence of the leader. So smart that he aces tests that are used to detect dementia. But of course, the doctor administering the test has never seen such a perfect score.

Epstein's death and coverup are proof that Republicans and Democrats can work together..... if the price is right.

The purpose of a good joke, is to disturb the humorless, and humour the disturbed.

Women might like to see blokes mud wrestling. They PERV too. Nev

Would you feel better about if they were wearing full PPE?

I know polling has its limitations, but the polling suggests people are increasingly dissatisfied with DJT. https://www.natesilver.net/p/trump-approval-ratings-nate-silver-bulletin Whilst it is easy to say that all politicians are bad, DJT takes it to an extreme level. Sure, he will probably be gone in a couple of years, but the ongoing damage will take years to fix. The problem is the creeping acceptance of deviance. As a rational person, I look at some of his appointments, and I can't believe it. The health of the nation is in the hands of crazy RFK. An advanced nation is being led away from rationality. Yes, of course, I am not an American citizen, and it is up to them; however, what a powerful country like the US does has an effect on the whole world. I, too, have a couple of US friends, and they do despair at where the country is going. It is easy to judge what people are thinking from their own individual silos. The polling could be getting it wrong, of course, but we shall see what happens in the midterms. DJT is already trying to say that the elections in California must be rigged (because he doesn't like the result). Is this how elections are going to be lost or won in the future?

About as defective as the bloke himself.

There is a type of soft rubbery material that reverts to black crude oil over time and blackens your hand. I threw out a set of screwdrivers like that. Yesterday I spent a few hours replacing the foam surrounds around the speaker cones in my 30-year-old stereo, which had turned to black grease. And I have a pair of binoculars that have gone like that, I am reluctant to throw them out but they are black and sticky.

Old headers are a "dime a dozen" Willie. I saw two New Holland TR85 headers go for $3000 each earlier this year, they had Cat 3208 V8's in them, and had only done 4000 and 5000 hours. They were in perfect working order, just essentially obsolete, as the new headers are 3 times the size, and pull the grain in, 4 times as fast. I was watching a video late last year of new New Holland header with a 60 foot front, it was ripping off barley at the rate of 80 tonnes an hour. The old fellas eyes would be like saucers if they were around to see this. Some of the times, two double trailer roadtrains can't keep up with hauling the grain away. Some of the mobile field bins ("mother bins") are now up to 200 and 300 tonnes.

Many Trusts are tax dodging RORTS. That's what They are aiming at. Nev.

Have you ever wondered about the weird and wonderful jobs that have to be done, and which never make any news articles, documentaries, or "this is your life" shows? Yes, there are hundreds of them, and many are so basic to everyday needs, that they just don't even get discussed. Jobs such as chicken sexers, aeroplane repossession agents, ball divers (yes, I know you never even considered what happens to those golf balls lost in deep water), and... wait for it - barnyard masturbators. Yes, there is even a job involving getting animals horny for ease of insemination, which must take a special type of person.

David Attenborough turned 100 today.

When I was in Burma in 1985, about the only reminder of the war was a lot of psp used for rural fencing once you got out of Rangooon into the countryside.

There's only Winners and whiners - no turd prizes are allowed.

Ruining democracy seems to be the activity of choice.

I don't think that ultra wealthy people think about how to spend it like we might. For them it's about having it, and for many it's just a by-product of their wheeling and dealing which is what they are really interested in. I recall one of Jerry's posts where he was talking about what motivates them to make money and why whatever they have is never enough, and what sets them apart from the rest of us.

It becomes just a GAME to them. Nev

Ironically, $600-$700 per week would be sufficient to service a mortgage, if there was a house to purchase.

The house across the road from me in the Perth Hills is just a 2x1 on half an acre. We were good friends with the owners for many years. His wife died some years ago at a relatively young age, so he eventually sold up and moved about 5 years ago. He wanted $280k but it was sold within a week for $340k. The people who bought sold it 18 months ago to a young couple for $720. We built our place in 1992. The block cost $39k and the house $130k. For the first 15 years it was worth about $180k as property prices in this area were stagnant. It's now worth about a million according to a real estate agent I spoke to recently. That was his estimate without even looking at it. He said he sold a house in this area 18 months ago for $1.2m and would list it now for $1.5m. Prices around here have gone through the roof. Rents have seen similar price increases. Paying $600-$700 per week is common now. I really don't know how young people can afford to live or buy anywhere decent these days.

The house directly across the road from me, is rented at $1500 a week. It's rented by a couple in their 30's/40's with 2 kids, and I have no idea what they do for a living, but they both appear to work at good-paying jobs. She drives an Audi SUV and he has a Subaru WRX Sportswagon. They moved in last September. I haven't spoken to either of them, they tend to lead a busy life, and don't take much notice of us oldies opposite them. The house was built in 2009 by a Police Detective, replacing an early 1950's house that obviously didn't fit their lifestyle. This couple divorced in 2010 and the house was sold for $948,000 to a bloke who did Mining OH&S, he worked as an OH&S manager for one of the big miners and would have been on about $300,000 a year. He was married to a black Kenyan lady who was a social worker, and they had one young teenage girl who was "on the spectrum". He moved to Canada last year and rented the house out, while they decide if they will stay in Canada permanently. Apparently, they had been there before, and loved the place. The house is now reported as being worth around $2,000,000. The mining bloke put in the pool, it cost him $55,000, and they were quite proud of it. It appears the mining bloke was worth millions, his deceased father owned a farm that was sold for something like $6,000,000, and the mining bloke got a sizeable share of that as an inheritance. https://www.domain.com.au/property-profile/140-wood-street-inglewood-wa-6052

Physios have their Place. Chiropractors are More Likely to cause injury, Backs Need Movement, I had 3 desiccated discs in the Lower back and now they are all moving with No Operations on my back Needed. . That's done entirely with appropriate exercises. Twisting with No Weight on the spine. Nev

A lot of physiotherapists live in a dream world. Standing on two feet with your eyes closed is a pretty good effort for anyone in their eighties, one foot is unneccessary risk taking in my opinion. Most people aim to do it on one foot with eyes open.The only physio I've ever been to that knew what she was doing was a young lady who migrated here from Mumbai. All her assessments and advice were practical, common sense and effective. And it was all verbal with some written take home instructions, very old school. Most of them these days are all about box ticking. They take your money and send you home with an exercise programme where you have to log in every day to their site and tick boxes saying you've done the exercises. Not worth two bob. There's heaps of physio mobs jumping on the bandwagon to hoover up medicare dollars via care plans using BS like that. It's a license to print money.

Unfortunately that is human nature for most people.

Nev, I havn't been in business for many years. This is just my retirement hobby. I get no tax deductions for anything!

I am reading a book about the WW2 Burma campaign. The US 111 Brigade retreated from Blackpool to Indawgyi Lake and couldn’t take the badly wounded. They were all shot to save them from falling into Japanese hands.