It is really hard to run a business. You have payroll. You have costs. In fact, it doesn’t really matter what you do in any particular month, you will still be up for a certain amount of fixed costs.

I am a tax lawyer and accountant, and have been for the last 20 years or so. I’ve come to the conclusion that there are three primary forms of taxation: The first is the well-known taxes which you pay, either to the ATO or a state revenue office. The second is the tax you pay by giving up your time. For example, if you run a business, you are also working for free as a tax collector for the Government, collecting GST and other taxes for them, and also reporting to them on a regular basis. There are additional compliance obligations of all sorts as well. All of these use up time. In our field, time = billing so it is essentially pro bono work but for the Government. The third is inflation. You might purchase a nice investment property somewhere, and maybe make a gain, but when you sell it, you will (depending on the situation) need to pay capital gains tax, which means you can no longer afford the same house again. This is the capital growth associated with prices rising more generally, as distinct from that asset in and of itself. So if you bought a house and it went up in value and all the other houses stayed the same, that’s different. More realistically all the other houses rise, so you stay in the same place, but when you sell you get hit (probably) with tax and so you actually go backwards.

No doubt you would have noticed the significant increases in prices lately. We need to also be mindful of the impact more generally to businesses as these are our clients and it affects their ability to pay.

The significant increase in the demands on time and on costs needs to be actively challenged and kept in check. If we are to keep some semblance of everyone being given a chance to do well, we need to start representing the regular lawyer. The whole point of having an association is so our collective voice can be heard.

I was previously involved in young lawyers, on the executive and also as treasurer, and chaired the tax law committee. I have also held other directorships and representative positions but that is going back quite a fair way. In truth over the last 10 years or so I have just been working on the business and focussing on my family (3 kids). It is in part due to the feeling that the compliance and costs are getting out of hand that I am hoping to participate again and see if I can do something about it. I’m equally happy for someone else to do it instead of me if they are better equipped to do so. I just think someone needs to do something.

But in doing something it needs to be something that can actually work. This is why I think the law society should focus on where it can make a difference. Some large expenses like insurance costs are where I think the law society can make a real difference. Pushing back on regulations is another. A representative attitude is a third, and also critical. The law society is us. It is up to us to do something. If you have read this far, I thank you. If you are willing to support, then I thank you even more. Please also support Teezar (Stefanus) Tirtadjaja. Feel free to reach out on (02) 7200 8200 or our website www.adamahmed.com.au