Question:
Hello David. This also applied in Canada with the GST at 7% and the HST at 15% in eastern Canada. Could you not escape the tax in the first year by paying your dues in advance of the date the tax takes effect? I don’t know; just wondering. See yuh mate!
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – By now most members of Australian Golf Clubs will be aware that GST (Goods and Services Tax) will apply on their Membership fees for any period of Membership after July 1, 2000. As the ‘membership years’ in most golf clubs
Response:
By now most members of Australian Golf Clubs will be aware that GST (Goods and Services Tax) will apply on their Membership fees for any period of Membership after July 1, 2000. As the ‘membership years’ in most golf clubs appear to start about March/April there will be a GST component on their fees for that part of the membership year after July 1 ,2000. This tax is a straight 10% on top of your fees!! I think most clubs manage to slip in an increase in their fees by between 5% 15-20% more to pay for your Membership. I wonder how many members will finally ‘give up’. I think many of the older members from our clubs who are aged pensioners…or who are on some other form of relatively low fixed income…. will be missing from the membership lists next year. In some clubs this could account for a fairly large percentage of the membership. Do any Aussie club members here think this will be a problem. Are any clubs making special ‘arrangements’ for their older club members? I would be interested to hear. David
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – By now most members of Australian Golf Clubs will be aware that GST (Goods and Services Tax) will apply on their Membership fees for any period of Membership after July 1, 2000. As the ‘membership years’ in most golf clubs appear to start about March/April there will be a GST component on their fees for that part of the membership year after July 1 ,2000. This tax is a straight 10% on top of your fees!! I think most clubs manage to slip in an increase in their fees by between 5% 15-20% more to pay for your Membership. I wonder how many members will finally ‘give up’. I think many of the older members from our clubs who are aged pensioners…or who are on some other form of relatively low fixed income…. will be missing from the membership lists next year. In some clubs this could account for a fairly large percentage of the membership. Do any Aussie club members here think this will be a problem. Are any clubs making special ‘arrangements’ for their older club members?
Just be thankful you aren’t in Canada. We also have GST, but it is 15% in New Brunswick, at least. RSG Roll Call: http://u1.netgate.net/~kirby34/rsg/newmanb.htm
Response:
Do any Aussie club members here think this will be a problem. Are any clubs making special ‘arrangements’ for their older club members?
It shouldnt be a problem. Without getting political, the rise in Memberships should be offset by cheaper other items and income tax deductions. It is unfair to single out one single product when discussing GST. (by the way, i didnt vote for it, but now we have got it we have to live with it). regards Mark Blake Fairway: [faer-wai] "An unfamiliar tract of mown grass running directly from tee to the green. Your ball can usually be found immediately to the left or right of it." RSG Roll Call: http://u1.netgate.net/~kirby34/rsg/blakem.htm
Response:
By now most members of Australian Golf Clubs will be aware that GST (Goods and Services Tax) will apply on their Membership fees for any period of Membership after July 1, 2000.
<snip Do any Aussie club members here think this will be a problem. Are any clubs making special ‘arrangements’ for their older club members?
David, We’ve discussed the effect of the GST at my club. Personally I don’t think the effect will be too great on most members. It may affect some of the least wealthy, although I can’t see how we can *not* collect it from them ;-(. A possibility might be a "seniors" membership rate, but some seniors have a higher disposable income than some struggling families. The only other option is some sort of "pensioner’s" discount, which we haven’t discussed. Our committee however has made a decision to hold membership fees for 2000-20001 at the 1999-2000 rate. (I don’t necessarily agree with this, as I think if you don’t at least cover inflation you are going backwards, but that was the vote.) This will alleviate the GST impact somewhat. The decision was partly made on the supposed reduced costs to the club from goods that are currently wholesale sales taxed at 22%. Given our fees of A$180 per year, the effect of a 10% GST in the immediate year is to add $12 (GST applies for the 8 months after July 1 2000), or $18 in a full year. We can’t immediately tell whether this will make some members drop out, as the GST effect on disposable income is yet to be seen. For instance, some general golfing costs, e.g. equipment, should fall in price. We will also be looking at whether to increase green fees to A$13 or A$14. A$13 will actually mean a slight reduction to the club itself, as the charge to make the A$13 is $11.82 plus $1.18 GST. So we would lose 18 cents per green fee player. Again some of the reduced costs, plus the fact we can now claim GST paid as a business input (whereas we couldn’t with sales tax), might offset this small reduction. A$14 would mean A$12.73 plus A$1.27 GST. Where the GST might have most impact on club operations is on just the sheer task of collecting and remitting it. The systems needing to be put in place, given that some of our methods are still pretty manual, incur a reasonable establishment expense. Also, separating out club operations (which fall within the GST), and say Social Club operations (which don’t make the $100,000 threshold) might be a bit of a nightmare. Even things like voucher exchanges for golf balls over the bar have some implication. Cheers Colin Wilson RSG Roll Call – http://u1.netgate.net/~kirby34/rsg/wilsonc.htm Visit one of Australia’s best club web sites: Trentham Golf Club – http://publishing.kyneton.net.au/trentham
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From a younger persons perspective (32), my golf is too important to me to let go of, because of a rise in fees. We still don’t know the full effects of the GST yet so we’ll just have to wait and see. I will make adjustments if necessary to ensure I maintain membership. Mianne Bagger – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – | By now most members of Australian Golf Clubs will be aware that GST (Goods | and Services Tax) will apply on their Membership fees for any period of | Membership after July 1, 2000. As the ‘membership years’ in most golf clubs | appear to start about March/April there will be a GST component on their | fees for that part of the membership year after July 1 ,2000. This tax is a | straight 10% on top of your fees!! | | I think most clubs manage to slip in an increase in their fees by between 5% | 15-20% more to pay for your Membership. I wonder how many members will | finally ‘give up’. I think many of the older members from our clubs who are | aged pensioners…or who are on some other form of relatively low fixed | income…. will be missing from the membership lists next year. In some | clubs this could account for a fairly large percentage of the membership. | | Do any Aussie club members here think this will be a problem. Are any clubs | making special ‘arrangements’ for their older club members? | | I would be interested to hear. | | David | | |