Am relocating from Sweden to Australia. Have never relocated before. Have been offered a max. lump sum, on top of my salary, for relocation costs. This includes, airfare, temporary accomodation, relocating furniture, etc. I asked my future employers whether I could use the money to purchase new furniture, whitegoods, household appliances, etc rather than relocate all my stuff from Sweden. Initially, they said it was no problem. However, after checking with their financial advisors, they said that it was no longer possible since the purchase of new furniture, etc may be interpreted as gifts. From what I have heard from others that have relocated, it is possible to purchase new furniture. Any thoughts with regards to tax laws? If this is the case, any ways around it?
Hi Bat, not sure on the tax/gifting situation (whether you mean Aust or Swedish), however with the appliances you will need to ensure that your appliances can run on 240V 10 amp 50 cycles/sec AC power with neutral/earth/active (not all countries are compatible).
Transporting furniture should be no problems.
Speaking to someone from England – Television may operate on a different radio frequency range.
Generally speaking (and very generally) anything benefit you receive from your employer (such as purchase of appliances) is a fringe benefit and subject to Fringe Benefits Tax – ie. same as income tax.
What you should look at is LAFA – Living Away from home allowance – see…. http://www.ato.gov.au for details of the tax benefits
I personally wouldn’t bother shipping white goods unless they were very high end. Most companies just compensate you for your loss when selling and buying new ones in the next country…. (just like your car). If they break it is a nightmare.
L
Thanks for the heads up about the appliances. However, I am an expat Aussie returning to Australia and have control over these things.
Thanks Thinker for your comments. Sorry for the misunderstanding. We will not be shipping white goods. If we do ship anything,it will be furniture (beds, lounges, table, chairs, toys, computers, dvd players, kitchen utensils, etc).
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you are suggesting that if I choose to buy new furniture, etc. that the money I use to do this with will be considered a fringe benefit, even if I need these things to relocate?
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