Business laws in Australia

Discuss about the Business Law and Due Diligence.
 

To discuss the business laws in Australia, one must know about Australia’s legal activities. For example, transport or vehicle industry is one of the most popular companies in Australia. Nowadays, there are so many options for people to travel from one place to another. To go somewhere, a person only needs to book a car online. One of the modern transportation companies is Uber. This assignment is all about the legal issues of ride share car companies compared with the business laws of Australia.

Uber Technologies Inc. is an American multinational online transportation system organization headquartered in San Francisco, California. It creates showcases and works the Uber portable application, which permits shoppers with cell phones to present an outing solicitation which is then directed to Uber drivers who utilize their own autos. As of August 2016, the administration was accessible in more than 66 nations and 507 urban areas around the world. Since Uber’s dispatch, a few different organizations have repeated its plan of action, a pattern that has come to be alluded to as “Uberification”. 

There are some legal issues that ride share cars are facing especially in Australia. These are:

Tax issues of ride share cars: To know about the taxation in Australia, one must have knowledge about the ‘Goods and Services Tax’ (GST). The property and services tax in Australia is an assessment levy of 10% on the largest part of supplies and services trades. GST is charged on most dealings in the manufacturing method but is recompensed to all passengers in the series of construction other than the ultimate customer. Any ride share cars drivers must maintain their tax issues. They need to follow the ATO’s ride-share tax implications-

1. i) Any money they formulate driving on behalf of a transport company calculates as profits, which means that they must announce the earnings on their income tax return (Hogan, 2012).
2. ii) Even if they make not as much of the $70,000 GST earnings threshold, as a driver of a ride-share cars they have to register for GST.

 As per ‘Motor vehicle standard act 1989’ of Australia, drivers of a ride-share car company must register for GST and then begin to lodge weekly a BAS report and give GST debts. According to the law, if they don’t do this, they are asking over for a problem with the ATO and a ride-share car company is improbable to aid them out of their private ATO dilemma. Apart from the tax issues, the Australian ‘Motor vehicle standard act’ gives some tax benefits to a driver of ride-share cars. There are a variety of tax subtractions one can allege as an engine of a transport company (Lucadou-Wells & Bourke, 2015). According to the transportation laws of Australia here are some occupational charges that become tariff-deductible when a person becomes a driver of ride share cars. These are – Registration; Indemnity; Maintenance; Tyres; Car repairs; Car cleaning expenses etc.

Legal Issues of Ride Share Cars in Australia

Alongside with these costs, the driver can state extra expenditure that is unswervingly connected to becoming and functioning as a driver of ride share cars, for example:

• Expenses of registering as a driver of a transport company (submission cost, medicinal and law enforcement checks, etc.)
• Job-related parking charge (maintain receipts and insert them up, or allege up to $300 per year for parking costs fewer than $15 each)
• Exceptional maintenance costs (car cleaning, carpet cleaning, etc.) 

Since ride share cars are new in Australia, the drivers need to pursue the continuously changing tax problems that pertain to car drivers (Ramón-Llorens& Hernández-Cánovas, 2012).

In Australia not pay taxes is a deliberate offence. If any taxi/car drivers neglect their tax payments then they can face serious problems. They will be put on trial by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. Apart from that the courts might oblige sanctuary bonds, neighbourhood service orders, fines, additional punishments and for some serious offences jail sentences. In addition, summery crimes are indicted by the ATO under the Tax Administration Act 1953, Criminal Code Act 19995 and Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Delic, 2014). 

Some places of Australia have legalized all ride share cars, because it is very important for any cab business to get authorized by the state Government. Without proper legal authorities, it is not safe for any cars to drive and take passengers, because if some accidents happened, then the passengers will not get the medical insurance facilities only because the car was not legal or authorized. In Australia the places that already authorized ride share cars are –

Ride share car legalization in Victoria: Ride share car’s legitimacy in Victoria, particularly for its transport facility has been in a high place for many years, and in recent times a court case questioned the aptitude of the ‘Victorian Tax Commission’ to be capable of breaking down on share car drivers. According to the Passenger Transport Act, 1990, an outmoded segment of the Transportation (Miscellaneous and Compliance) Act1983 that the District Court in Victoria construed as meaning every customer required to be alleged individually in order for a facility to be measured and appoint service resulted in the verdict that acquiescence officers, who move in pairs could not charge money to those car drivers for violating the law for the reason that they were charged only one entrance fee for the journey (Mancuso, 2014). If an officer had gone unaccompanied, the security would not have pertained. 

Legalization of ride share cars in New South Wales: After many months of observations on drivers in the country, NSW Prime Minister Mike Baird publicized in December, 2015 that the administration would authorize ride share cars according to The Point to Point Transport Bill, 2015, recompense taxi permit plate possessors to the refrain of $350 million with a $1.5 tariff per tour to forfeit for it, and select a new controller to supervise the diligence (CASSEL, 2016).

Legalization of all Ride Share Cars in Australia

Ride sharing cars in South Australia: In April 2016 the government of South Australia transformed regulations and would permit ride share cars to work in the country from 1st July. At the same time as with New South Wales, there would be a $1.5 tariff on the entire metro journeys for all travellers of all facilities to give $55 for every week for an upper limit of 10 months to license owners impacted via legalizing ride sharing cars. Apart from that, every taxi license possessor will as well get $25,000 in damages (Davenport & Parker, 2011).

In Australia, later than the forward of obligatory front outboard rising points in 1964, the utilization of seat belts by all motor vehicle travellers was prepared mandatory in the countries of South Australia and Victoria in 1971 and 1970, correspondingly. By 1973, the use of fixed seat belts by vehicle tenants was made necessary for the whole country of Australia for the duration of the 1970s and 1980s. Seat belt laws are an important part to avoid any kind of injuries or accidents (under REG 267). According to this law, ride share car drivers also need to take care that their passengers are wearing seat belts and the drivers also need to fasten their seatbelts. The consequent vivid demur in highway deaths is usually because of seat belt acts and ensuing road security movements (Voyce&Possamai, 2011). The rules for these drivers are depending on the country or area with authority.

Conclusion:

Thus ride share cars are spreading in all over Australia by maintaining the laws and regulations. Despite its legal issues, these cars are matching themselves with the Australian business rules and regulations. It is true that the drivers still have no control over cab fares, but soon they will find a solution for this problem also. 

References:

Cassel, D. (2016). Outlining the Case for a Common Law Duty of Care of Business to Exercise Human Rights Due Diligence. Business And Human Rights Journal, 1(02), 179-202. https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/bhj.2016.15

Crilly, W., Sherman, A., &Crilly, W. (2010). The AMA Handbook of Due Diligence. New York: American Management Association.

Davenport, S. & Parker, D. (2011). Business and law in Australia. Pyrmont, N.S.W.: Thomson Reuters (Professional) Australia.

Hogan, L. (2012). Non-renewable resource taxation: policy reform in Australia*. Australian Journal Of Agricultural And Resource Economics, 56(2), 244-259. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8489.2012.00583.x

Lucado-Wells, R. & Bourke, J. (2015). Teaching Business Law: Some Ethical Dimensions from Australia. Procedia – Social AndBehavioral Sciences, 209, 102-108. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.11.264

Ramón-Llorens, M. & Hernández-Cánovas, G. (2012). Classification and Analysis of Criteria Used in the Due Diligence Process. IJBM, 7(6). https://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v7n6p81

Voyce, M. &Possamai, A. (2011). Legal Pluralism, Family Personal Laws, and the Rejection of Shari’a in Australia: A Case of Multiple or “Clashing” Modernities?.Democracy and Security, 7(4), 338-353. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17419166.2011.617603

Mancuso, P. (2014). An analysis of the competition that impinges on the Milan–Rome intercity passenger transport link. Transport Policy, 32, 42-52. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2013.12.013

Delic, N. (2014). The act of minor significance and genuine remorse in the criminal code. Anali Pravnog Fakulteta U Beogradu, 62(1), 23-40. https://dx.doi.org/10.5937/analipfb1401023d