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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

The Australian Government acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the Elders past and present.

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Newslines Radio: It’s tax time

Jobs, Land and Economy

It’s tax time again and this year the ATO is celebrating 25 years of Tax Help – a free service that helps people at tax time.

It’s tax time again and this year the ATO is celebrating 25 years of Tax Help – a free service that helps people at tax time.

Newslines is taking a look at the ATO’s Tax Help service and speaking with some of their volunteers who help Indigenous people complete and lodge their tax returns.

If you earn around $50,000 or less and you have simple tax affairs, you could get free help with your tax return through the Tax Help service.

Remember, doing your tax return could mean you get some money back. If you’ve been paid to work or received Centrelink money over the past 12 months, you may need to fill in a tax return.

Martina Kingi is a Tax Help volunteer at Kimberley Money Management Services in Derby who is helping her people in in the region understand more about tax.

“It’s money in our pocket, it’s rightfully ours and a lot of people don’t understand what tax is all about, so while I am doing their tax returns I am giving them a lot of information and they are asking a lot of questions,” Martina said.

Find out more

Tax Help is a network of community volunteers, including Indigenous people, who provide a free and confidential service to help people complete their tax returns during tax time.

Volunteers are fully trained, accredited and supported by ATO.

If you earn around $50,000 or less and you have simple tax affairs, you could get free help with your tax return through the Tax Help service. Tax Help is available in many local community centres. In most places, the service is available from July to October.

Visit ato.gov.au/taxhelp or call the ATO on 13 28 61.

The ATO offers a range of information and services to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people understand tax, visit ato.gov.au/indigenous.