A young Aussie worker has made waves after revealing she was slugged more than $30,000 by Australian Taxation Office

Sky News AU

6 hours ago

A young Australian worker has caused a commotion after revealing she owes the tax office a hefty $32,000.
Christie, a 21-year-old worker based in Brisbane posted on TikTok that 'apparently I owe, $32,459' to the Australian Taxation Office, adding 'they defs meant to say that's my deduction right?'
The video, which the majority of followers thought was satire, caused an instant buzz, with commentors questioning how a tax bill could fetch so high.
One shocked commentor asked 'how do you owe 32k!!' while another said, 'if this happened to me, I'd rip my boss a new one.'
'If your caption is for real, how do you owe that much' one person queried, adding that the ATO were 'rip offs.'
'Are you doing ABN work? If not you should certainly not be having a tax bill anywhere near than even if you aren't working multiple jobs correctly,' one stunned commentor wrote.
Speaking to News.com.au, Christie, who works in event management and promotional marketing said it was a 'lose-lose' situation and that she was no stranger to exorbitant tax bills.
'I make a decent amount of money so wasn't too shocked to see the bill. I usually have a tax bill, but it hasn't been this large,' Christie said.
Christie stated in the comment section that she 'works a lot' yet insisted she had never received an invoice this high from the ATO, and that the extraordinary fee caught her by complete surprise.
Christie, who works multiple jobs and uses an Australian Business Number, said that she squirrels away enough money in anticipation of being hit with a substantial fee every year.
'I end up making pretty much the same net income as years where I was working less so it feels like a bit of a lose-lose situation,' Christie said.
Despite the new financial year beginning only a few days ago, Christie is not the only Aussie sharing nightmarish tax stories on social media, with users criticising the ATO for lobbing them with massive bills.
One user on a separate post said, 'I work casually and still owe 2k' while another moaned 'I owe $3,300.'
The string of disgruntled comments continued with one stating 'I had a three grand bill last year. I'm too scared to do this year's.'
Another user despaired that they 'work casually and still owe 2k. Like no I barely get $350 a week – make it make sense.'
However, experts stress there are numerous reasons a taxpayer may unexpectedly receive a rude awakening.
These can include your employer neglecting to make HECS-HELP contributions leaving workers with a mammoth bill come tax time, or sole traders not making repayments through the pay as you go system.
Other factors can include the Medicare levy surcharge, failing to include your partners income and not accounting for capital gains made throughout the year.