The fight with the ATO is just one front on which Uber is challenging authorities. The Queensland government fined more than 500 UberX drivers more a combined total of more than $1.7 million in the 12 months to June. The Taxi Council of Queensland has been unrelenting in its attacks on the ride-sharing service both in the media and with prominent cab and billboard advertising throughout Brisbane. According to Uber, even after the imposition of the 10 per cent surcharge, its prices would be about 25 per cent to 35 per cent cheaper than comparable taxi trips. Uber had previously told UberX drivers to get their own financial advice about whether or not they needed to collect GST. The tax is applied on all taxi trips. "This is not a tax on Uber, but rather an additional tax on the thousands of everyday Australians who earn a flexible income by sharing rides on the Uber platform," Uber's Australian general manager David Rohrsheim said in an email to customers. "It also means that drivers who share just a few rides each month may encounter unnecessary red tape, such as the filing of quarterly business activity statements with the ATO." UberX launched in Brisbane and the Gold Coast last year. Stay informed. Like the Brisbane Times Facebook page.
Uber have shifted the the blame to the tax office, which is insisting on drivers paying GST, by upping its fares in Brisbane by 10%. Uber says it believes that its "driver partners and riders are being unfairly singled out, and so Uber is challenging the ATO's position in the Federal Court of Brisbane".