Australia's top court says Uber drivers are employees, leaving Uber $81m in tax
Uber just lost its last legal lifeline in Australia. The high court ruled 6-1 that its drivers are employees and their pay counts as wages, leaving the rideshare giant on the hook for $81m in New South Wales payroll tax — a bill likely to swell past $100m once later years are counted.
Uber just ran out of road in Australia. The country's high court dismissed the rideshare giant's appeal on Wednesday, ruling 6-1 that its drivers are employees and that the money it hands them counts as wages under New South Wales law — a decision that leaves it liable for $81m in payroll tax covering 2015 through 2020. That was Uber's final legal avenue, so there's no appeal left to file.
The immediate hit is $81m, but the paperwork isn't done. The same logic is expected to apply to later tax years, which would push Uber's total bill comfortably past $100m. Uber had already won one round: it successfully appealed the NSW chief commissioner of state revenue's original assessment before the high court shut the door.
The majority didn't buy Uber's argument that it simply connects riders with independent drivers. In their judgment, the justices noted that Uber structured its business so rider payments funnel through the company first, giving it substantive control over fares before they're passed on. That setup, they said, lets Uber skim its service fee — or change or cancel the fare entirely.
Chief Justice Stephen Gageler pointed to a quirk of timing in his reasoning. State payroll tax laws were tweaked late last century to catch contractual arrangements that disguised the real nature of a working relationship, and those provisions keep 'always speaking in the present,' he wrote — meaning they reach the gig economy that showed up in this century.
The ruling sends ripples well beyond Uber. Legal expert Celeste Black wrote last year that the case would probably shape the payroll tax obligations of companies using gig workers right across Australia.
New South Wales officials were quick to frame it as a fairness question. Finance minister Courtney Houssos said payroll tax is a key part of the state's tax base even though only about one in 20 companies clear the threshold to pay it, and that it funds essential services families depend on. 'Local businesses pay their fair share,' she said. 'Uber should pay their fair share too.'
TopicsUber · High Court of Australia · New South Wales · Stephen Gageler · Courtney Houssos · Celeste Black · NSW chief commissioner of state revenue
Source: theguardian.com
Written by Paparazzi with AI. Not financial advice.