Gifts, donations, tips and stolen property

Gifts, donations, tips and stolen property may be payable as if the associate had paid market value.

Most gifts are not supplies attracting GST because they are made without consideration and, in any event, may not be made in the course of an enterprise by a registered supplier.

Genuine tips to restaurant staff and others are not subject to GST, provided that they are not a pre-set amount or described as a service charge.

• at a $100-a-plate fundraising dinner, none of the $100 can be treated as a gift;
• the naming of a building or room after a donor will be treated as a sponsorship, not a gift, if the donation was conditional on the naming;
• membership fees paid to a charity organisation are not gifts because they confer membership rights, even though these may not be tangible;

Not surprisingly, GST is not payable where property is stolen.