Gold Coast woman cops major backlash over $13,000 tax bill rant

A Gold Coast woman has been torn to shreds online after she vented about her $13,000 tax bill, only for her true salary to be exposed.

A Gold Coast woman has copped backlash after complaining about her $13,000 tax bill. Picture: Marina Askew-Panetta/TikTok

A Gold Coast woman has been torn apart online after taking to social media to complain about her whopping $13,000 tax bill.

Just have many workers have done before her this tax period, when Marina Askew-Panetta was told that she owed the ATO money she jumped on TikTok to vent her frustrations and maybe even to get a bit of sympathy from her fellow Aussies.

“Guys, I have been absolutely f**king stitched up by the government. Can someone please explain to me how I paid $48,000 in tax?” she said.

Marina also noted that she also received bonuses in the form of commission pay checks, which she paid a higher tax rate on.

“So I have paid like 48 per cent tax on some of my pay checks and apparently I owe them $13,034.95. Merry f**king Christmas babe. Good on you. I am f**king shaking,” she said.

“I am so glad I paid nearly $50,000 in tax and that is how I get repaid. Like I actually want to scream.”

Marina Askew-Panetta took to TikTok to share her frustrations over getting a $13,000 tax bill. Picture: Marina Askew-Panetta/TikTok

However, there were some commenters who were less than sympathetic towards her situation. Picture: Marina Askew-Panetta/TikTok

Within 24 hours of being posted, the video had been viewed more than 400,000 times and had gained hundreds of comments – but, unfortunately, most of them were far from sympathetic.

Commenters were quick to point out that getting a $13,000 tax bill on top of the $48,000 in tax she had already paid meant that the Gold Coast woman was likely raking in a pretty impressive yearly income.

Marina, who works in sales, further clarified that her bonus pay checks were taxed at 48 per cent, while the rest of her wage was taxed at 37 per cent.

To be taxed at a rate of 37 per cent, a person has to be earning between $120,001 and $180,000 a year.

“What you paid in tax, was my wage,” one commenter claimed, while others said Marina “clearly” hadn’t paid enough tax if she was getting such a big bill.

“I hate these videos … People trying to flex their income while at the same time showing their complete ignorance of our tax system,” one person wrote.

Another said: “Cost of living crisis and this chick is complaining she paid more tax than some people make total in a year lol.”

One commenter said they were “embarrassed” for her, while another urged her to “go outside and touch some grass”.

“Stop complaining with your high salary when real people are out here struggling. Attention seeker,” they added.

However, there were those who defended Marina, with one person criticising the “jealousy” from other commenters, while another person claimed the tax debt was “still unfair” even if she was a high income earner.

“The amount of people on this app that are so butt hurt at others making good wages is insane,” one person wrote.

Marina added that she would be going to an accountant to double check whether the 13,000 debt was correct or whether it could be reduced.

The post sparked such a fierce debate that it caught the attention of Sydney Tax Lawyer, Harry Dell, who wasted no time setting the record straight.

“Alright, I just woke up and I see this rubbish and now I have got to make a video about basic maths,” he said in his own TikTok video.

While the sales worker never disclosed her exact yearly income, Mr Dell deduced she likely has a base salary between $160,000 and $195,000, depending on whether she is still paying off a HECS debt.

He then posted the effective tax rates for each of these salaries. He noted a $160,000 salary, with a HECS debt and paying $63,000 in tax equals a rate of 39 per cent, while $190,000, with no HECS and $62,000 equals a rate of 32 per cent.

“Here is the effective tax rates for each – is that fair? Everyone else on that income has to pay the same amount,” Mr Dell said.

“Because the HECS repayment would be around $16,000 and if she earned that $160,000 and didn’t say she had HECS, she would owe about $16,000 less extra tax withheld on those commissions.”

He ended the video by saying he was “happy” to look at Marina’s tax return and explain how the calculation works and what likely caused this tax bill.