Jackson is an enthusiastic "gamer", regularly playing interactive online video and computer games since he was 14 years old. His enthusiasm at one point led to an obsession where he played for very long periods of time (6 to 7 hours per day, whilst attending secondary school), routinely entering into competitions with other international players, and winning substantial cash prizes in the amount of $3,000. On one occasion, Jackson won a non-transferrable holiday (to the value of $5,000) to go to the United States of America. Jackson's passion and knowledge of gaming became so well-known, that he was frequently asked by his school teachers to do some coding for the school's computer systems. In return, he would receive $300 gift vouchers for completing the work, however Jackson would often be too shy to accept. His teachers would say "just consider it an early high school graduation gift". Jackson is now 18 years old, and has been offered a scholarship for $10,000 by a company, "Goggle" on the condition that he commences employment with them on the completion of his university studies. The terms of contract require Jackson to develop a video game, so it can be manufactured and sold to market. Prior to commencing his employment contract with Goggle, Jackson is paid $20,000, preventing him from disclosing any secrets of Goggle to any other competing software company and a further $30,000 for the sale of copyright of the video game to Goggle in exchange for 15% of the sale proceeds. Jackson accepts the terms of the contract and works for Goggle full time. During his employment with Goggle, Jackson continues to enter into gaming competitions, and given his international recognition, commences to live-stream his gaming through websites such as "U Tube" and "Twatch". In doing so, he attracts significant sponsorship from large companies, receiving a substantial sum amounting to $100,000. Given his ongoing popularity, Jackson engages in a publicist to manage his fan base and an accountant to manage his record keeping and tax affairs.

Required:

(a) Advise Jackson as to whether any of the gains made in the above facts would form part of his ordinary income or statutory income. Please support your answer with relevant legislation and case law.

(b) Advise Jackson as to whether he may need to register for GST during the time he starts to live-stream his gaming, and consider whether he needs to remit 10% GST payable to the Australian Taxation Office in relation to the $100,000 gain received. Assume this amount is GST inclusive. Please support your answer with relevant legislation and case law.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

a Taxation of Gains 1 Cash Prizes from Gaming Competitions The 3000 cash prizes Jackson won from gaming competitions would likely be considered ordina... View the full answer