-=> Quoting Bruce WHITE to All <=-

 BW> At what point does the govt/tax dept get involved in a transaction 
 BW> like this?

 BW> Any ideas? Am I an exporter deserving subsidy?

Bruce,

Sounds an interesting business concept; in fact if you've got the time,
I would be interested in seeing what you mean by "hawking yourself on
the Internet"  - as you described it.

As to your questions: (I think you're writing from Australia)

        1a. Your tax obligations will depend on a number of issues
        including your business structure (company, sole trader etc...),
        whether you are paying yourself a salary (in which case you will
        have immediated PAYE obligations) etc...  Without more details
        as to how you are setting things up, its impossible to give a
        firm answer.

        1b. This is definitely an issue you should resolve early with a
        suitable business advisor.  I highly reccomend you make the time
        to use your State Govt business advisory resources for a start.
        These people are well enough informed to give you some clear
        direction and smart enough to refer to you specialists when they
        are out of their league.  The name of the department varies
        between states but shouldn't be too hard to find. (Office of
        Small Business or similar)

        2. Rhetorical question - Why should an exporter (as opposed to
        any other commerce segment) DESERVE subsidy?

        In any event some do receive subsidies, deserved or not, so you
        might as well grab them if you can.  In your case, again this is
        a specialist question requiring qualifying detail. The Small
        Business Advisory people may be able to answer and if not will
        direct you to the right place.

        In my experience (Export Market Development Grants) we had to
        spend a significant amount of money before there was a benefit
        to participating in the scheme; also as you can imagine,
        participation in any gov't scheme means reams of highly
        structured paperwork etc... so be prepared for a hassle if you
        do find funds available.

        There is a specialist firm based in Perth called Export Market
        Development Grant Advisory Service (I think they shorten it to
        "EMDG") who know all the traps and pitfalls and may be able to
        assist you with your query.


In closing, if you haven't done so already, I urge you to pick up a book
titled "How to Run a Business from Your Home" - Peter Vervoorn which is
a very good intro to business (in Australia) and business attitudes
generally.  It also has a good section on 'Sources of Information and
Assistance' in Australia.

Good luck,


Vince




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