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WA's only Catholic weekly newspaper
Poet-dramatist Pope celebrates with kindred spirits
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There is help for farmers St Isidore - Page 8
Parishes confront GST By David Kehoe
The Archdiocese of Perth has asked its parishes, priests and archdiocesan agencies to register separately for goods and services tax payment.
The Archdiocese's Gsr consultant, Brian Power, urged priests and parish finance representatives meeting at St John of God, Subiaco, last 'Tuesday evening to adopt separate registration to deal with the imposition of a GSF on items and services purchased by a parish, priest or agency. If a parish purchased goods and services worth $45,000 in a year, It would pay $4,500 Gsr when buying the goods but be entitled to claim the $4,500 back from the ATO, he told The Record in an Interview last Monday. A parish fete committee could legitimately deal simply with the GSF by operating as a sub-entity Brian Power, the Archdiocese's GST of a registered parish, as long as consultant, speaks to the parish GST it did not earn more than meeting last Tuesday evening. $100.000, kept separate accounts.
and donated all net income to the books of account for the sub-entiparish. Parishes should also ty," he said. If you bought goods realise that they could get a GST with GSF on them and were not refund on all their capital expen- registered, "you could not claim Input credits back" diture as well. The fete would then donate the "So if they build a new wing on the church, they can claim an net profit to the parish. A priest would have the option Input credit back on that," he said. But once a parish's turnover - of registering, Mr Power said. "There could be some priests minus its second collection - rose above $100.000, it would be where it may not be worth their required legally to register for while registering and claiming a GST over that figure, Mr Power refund of the GST they have paid." said, but would have the option of "[But for I parish priests generregistering below that figure to ally, it would be in their interests claim a refund for GSF paid. to register." Parish presbyterys were GST They should register to get back free because parishes allowed a full GST refund rather than wait priests to use them rent-free. to claim GSF as a deduction when Parish fund-raising would be filing an income tax return, which GST-taxable, apart from raffles, would be a lower amount bingo and sale of second-hand Mr Power said that, to be regisgoods and donations. tered for the payment of GST, a "If you are running a fete . . . . parish, priest or agency would you could register the fete with also have to acquire an Australian the Tax Office as a sub-entity of Business Number (ABN). the parish." This would happen as part of That meant. Mr Power said, the the registration process on one fete would get its own ABN num- ATO form to be supplied by the ber but it wouldn't register for Archdiocesan Finance Office at GST. the end of February. The registration process had to "So that you keep separate
be finished by May, he said. A list of all archdiocesan institutions with public benevolent institution (PBI) accreditation for receiving donations under the outgoing tax system would also have to be compiled before 30 June so institutions receiving donations could be endorsed by the ATO as Deductible Gift Recipients (DGRs), Mr Power said. Failure to get endorsement would mean that donors would not be able to claim income tax deductions for their donations. After 30 June, parishes, priests and agencies would have to decide if they would lodge returns monthly or quarterly for GSF purposes, with the monthly system likely to incur higher administration costs than a quarterly return. "So at the end of each quarter, if they are lodging quarterly, they should get a refund rather than paying out GSF," Mr Power said. "So it's in their interests to register." A second seminar on the GST for parishes will be held at St John of God Hospital next Tuesday, 29 February.
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Bishop stirs wedding hornets' nest with timely reminder By Susan K Virgalitte YOUNGSRMN, Ohio (CNS) An Ohio bishop's column on how priests struggle with many aspects of modern wedding preparations created a firestorm in a newspaper's advice column when the newspaper printed a letter about the issue, then invited clergy to share their views. The original column that sparked the reaction was by Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Youngstown. Writing last May in his "Without A Doubt" column in his diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Exponent, he pointed out that many priests in his US diocese were not happy with the secular practices surrounding wedding ceremonies and receptions. He said in part that "wedding rehearsals are a constant irritant for priests who have to deal with
large, unruly wedding parties and people who aren't used to being in the church." "Wedding liturgies themselves become parties rather than prayer, making it nearly impossible to maintain any sense of decorum, any sense of the sacred," he said. He cited drunken groomsmen. crying flower girls, inappropriate music, and photographers who disrupted the service. An Exponent reader sent the bishop's column to columnist Ann Landers, who printed excerpts from it and invited clergy of all faiths to respond. She devoted her 16 and January columns to the responses she received, noting that she was "still reeling from the bags of mail that resulted" from Bishop Tobin's remarks. Her columns indicated that the wedding ceremony controversy generated a heavy response from clergy and lay leaders around the
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Happier weddings: 32 Hispanic couples had their civil marriages validated by the Church in a ceremony in the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, last November. See story, Page 11. Photo. CN&Jose A. CarnevalvArlIngton Herald
country who agreed with Bishop Tobin's sentiments. Landers was on vacation and unavailable for comment on the response. "On one level, I found it very amusing," Bishop Tobin told The Exponent in a recent interview.
"On a more serious level, what the discussion indicates is that! hit a real nerve and said something that apparently many other priests and clergy are thinking," he said. "It indicates that, throughout
the country, we have a real problem about the way people are celebrating weddings today. 'Marriage is a very beautiful and important vocation and sacrament," Bishop Tobin continued. "The way we celebrate weddings has to reflect that, or the marriage gets off to a bad start." The wedding ceremony and other festivities surrounding a wedding indicate how people feel about marriage, the bishop said. "If it's just a party or a social event, it lacks that profound spiritual significance," he added. Of course, not every wedding has these problems. "There are many beautiful and thoughtful and prayerful wedding ceremonies," the bishop said, "but the problems are frequent and indicate we have a lot of work to do to remind people of what marriage is all about." Continued on Page 15
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