Hello Alan and All

Well my daughter got her pr after two years exactly on the temp spouse visa. My son recently got a 457 visa too as a chef and plans to stay for at least the 4 years. Thanks very much for all your help and advice.

Myself and my wife are finding it quieter at home but not without its occasional worries eg. your 22 yo son is buying a new car for 17 thousand and you can't be there to negotiate for him or ensure he gets the right warranty, phew. My daughters employer will not honour her car expenses and she relied on these to top up to a livable salary.

She was offered petrol expenses at her interview and also $200 a week car allowance in her written contract but recently they refused to pay her petrol. She is expected to cover from the river in Brisbane northwards of Queensland as a rep. Because the petrol expenses offer was verbal I don't think she can enforce it but is $200 a week car allowance fair considering if theres no airport she could travel several hundred miles.? Anyway she can't afford this travel now so is forced to stay more local at the loss of sales to her company.

She earns $500 a week. As I said the allowances helped make this more reasonable. Is there some set rule for car allowances? She will have had 5 months in the job come ther end of the tax year. Can she claim anything back?

My son needed a copy of his visa for the loan for his car but the employer has lost it. I don't think it applied anyway as it may have needed to be a pr visa so I had to help him out with a loan.(out of sight but still in my pocket Ha!Ha!). Would this visa documents/letter just be confirmation anyway and could his employer have conveniently lost it because it has details on he would not want Adam to know i.e. medical cover and flight home conditions? or what?

I would greatly appreciate any advice as would my children. Is $200 per week car allowance acceptable? What tax breaks are avialable for business use? Could she enforce the interview offer of petrol expenses?. Is my sons visa safe and is there anything on it we may need to know?

Thanks again for your help. Gone but not forgotten....for sure!

Regards

Tone

Hello Tone.

Comments as follows:

- Is your daughter's employer so hard up that they can no longer pay her petrol costs? How is she expected to do her job? Just as importantly, how are they going to expect her to deliver additional revenues if they don't reimburse costs incurred on company business?

I am afraid this short sightedness is typical of so many employers in Australia ...

- I anticipate that any expenses your daughter incurs on business related activity are capable of being claimed as a tax deduction. Similarly I would expect the car allowance to be included in her assessable income. I recommend she engages a competent tax accountant. Please let me know if you need a name and a number.

- Your son should have had the 457 visa evidenced in his passport - has he done this? Does he not have a copy of the 457 visa grant advice? This is usually sent by email.

Best regards.