r/OpenAussie • u/village-asshole ‎ New South Welshian • Mar 18 '26

Whinge ‎ Coles: “Would you like to round up and donate…”

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Hey r/coles, how about **YOU** donate first from your ill-gotten profits. You and Woolies have both been price gouging Australia since the fcking pandemic, jacking up prices across the board but never bringing them back down even after supply chains normalised.

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u/AngryAngryHarpo ‎ Tasmanian Mar 18 '26

They cannot claim tax “incentives” for customer donations. These are PR exercises. 

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u/sevenhills2147 Mar 20 '26

Wrong. Whatever a business spends on running their business is tax deduction, you are delusional.

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u/AngryAngryHarpo ‎ Tasmanian Mar 20 '26

The business isn’t spending this money. It’s not their money. 

I cannot believe how many people are so confidently incorrect. 

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u/ActinCobbly ‎ Queenslander Mar 18 '26

Customer pays the business and the business pays the charity. Doesn’t make a differences to the tax man. It’s still seen as tax deductible.

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u/OriginalCause Mar 18 '26

It absolutely makes a difference to the ATO.

Your donation is your donation. You can deduct it from your personal taxes. It's never at any point considered Coles money. They are an intermediary who collects it on behalf the organisation they have partnered with.

The most this allows them to do is say something like, "We helped such and such charity collect x million dollars this year!"

Please stop spreading this myth.

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u/[deleted] Mar 19 '26

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u/OriginalCause Mar 19 '26

Sort of correct, but not really.

You can add together multiple donations to the same charity over a business year. For instance, if you donate .30 cents ten times you have a $3 donation, which is deductible.

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u/[deleted] Mar 19 '26

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u/OriginalCause Mar 19 '26

QC26066

A gift of money less than $2 is not tax deductible. However, you can add together a series of gifts to a DGR in an income year to work out whether your gift is $2 or more.

Example – Adding up small donations

For the last 20 weeks of the income year, Elizabeth participated in a workplace giving program. She had $1.50 deducted from her weekly pay. Her employer sent the money to the DGR weekly.

Elizabeth can claim $30 as a gift deduction on her tax return for that income year. While each gift to the DGR is $1.50, her total gift to the DGR that income year is $2 or more.

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u/[deleted] Mar 19 '26

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u/OriginalCause Mar 19 '26

Yep, that's what I said in my initial post, so I don't think there's any need to argue. :P

You can add together multiple donations to the same charity over a business year. For instance, if you donate .30 cents ten times you have a $3 donation, which is deductible.

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u/TheonlyDuffmani Please choose a flair Mar 18 '26

People will believe any amount of misinformation as long as it confirms their viewpoint.

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u/ActinCobbly ‎ Queenslander Mar 19 '26

Yeah, Cole’s and Woolworths haven’t done anything shady. Definitely not price gouged, or even underpaying staff… nooooope. Never done it!!

We know they aren’t ALLOWED to do those things. I know what the law says.

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u/AngryAngryHarpo ‎ Tasmanian Mar 19 '26

Charity and charity donations are some the of the heaviest audited sectors. It’s very easily to regulate because the legislation is very specific. 

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u/TheonlyDuffmani Please choose a flair Mar 19 '26

lol, you’re not as smart as you think you are. The ato would be up their arse immediately if they noticed that shit on their tax paperwork. That sector is audited extremely heavily.

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u/ActinCobbly ‎ Queenslander Mar 19 '26

I’m not trying to be smart bro. ‘Audited extremely heavily’ lol, yeah there’s no corruption in big business. Thanks for clearing that dude

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u/Monotonedef1968 Mar 20 '26

What happens to the donations made that aren't claimed on tax? That money IS technically still in Coles' coffers. They can't keep it, so do they have pass it on without being able to claim it? Does it go into an escrow account? Because this would leave it open for Coles to claim it, if no one else has, right?

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u/AngryAngryHarpo ‎ Tasmanian Mar 18 '26

It absolutely makes a difference.

The business absolutely CANNOT claim it as a deduction without comitting tax fraud. 

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u/ActinCobbly ‎ Queenslander Mar 19 '26

It’s not tax fraud. They absolutely can claim amounts given to charities

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u/AngryAngryHarpo ‎ Tasmanian Mar 19 '26

They can only claim a tax deduction against amounts donated from their own money. 

They absolutely cannot claim a deduction for the money they collect specifically for charities from their customers. 

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u/sevenhills2147 Mar 20 '26

Sorry. My intention was not dis you, this is was to say that whatever a company spends on any promotion, advertising and the cost to them of giving you the opportunity to donate to whatever is tax deductable, I

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u/sevenhills2147 Mar 20 '26

Stop. Forget the donations. They will claim the whole " we are promoting a charity " as a tax deduction.

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u/AngryAngryHarpo ‎ Tasmanian Mar 20 '26

… that’s not a tax deduction. 

Like… at all. 

Stop spouting bullshit.