Discovering joy of sharing

JOY Baines has no fixed address and has to make a booking just to drive her own car, but savings of $2000 a month may just mean she is Australia’s greatest share economist. Having already had her car pay for itself and make extra money on top, by renting it out on the Car Next Door platform, it was not until she returned from a stint abroad that she also considered house and pet sitting. “I went through a hard time a few years back and I wanted to live in Sydney but couldn’t afford it. I was struggling to pay my rent and things had to change,” Ms Baines said. “In four days I sold everything and embraced minimalism.”

She enjoyed house sitting so much that she began doing it full time. “I’m booked up until July this year,” she said. “I live all over Sydney, I have a great time and have met great people.”

An animal lover, Ms Baines especially enjoys looking after people’s pets and uses her professional skills to provide little treats for the owners. “I work in digital media, so I create movie trailers about the pet’s adventures as a little bonus,” she said. “People also get video and photo updates for peace of mind.”

More people are getting involved with the share economy, which means strong competition for sitting jobs.

“It’s very competitive, you have to stand out. You’ve got to do your marketing, then you’ve got to do interview by pet, where you’ve got 20 minutes to get a dog or cat to show they like you, or the owner will go with someone else,” Ms Baines said.

“I look after pets, clean the clients’ houses and they also return home to a stocked fridge.”

Saving $2000 a month is a major benefit, but Ms Baines loves the lifestyle aspects the most.

“Not every woman wants to get married, have kids and do the school run,” she said.

“When I go and visit friends in Italy, I know I won’t be tied down to paying rent back in Sydney.”

Social demographer Mark McCrindle said the rise of the share economy reflects a shift in attitudes to ownership by ordinary Australians.

“In the past we had this mindset that rent was dead money and that continued through to other things, like buying a car. You had to own something to use it,” Mr McCrindle said. “But we’ve changed all that. People travel lighter in life and you can utilise something as if it’s your own, without having to own it.”

The new sharing landscape can be confusing however, especially around tax obligations, H & R Block director of tax communications Mark Chapman said.

“Some people regard the work they do in the share economy as just a hobby,” he said. “That’s not how the ATO sees it; they see someone advertising their services through a commercial website for a fee and that equates to running a business and earning income.”

Mr Chapman said all income earned through the share economy must be declared, while certain platforms – Uber for example – require you to register for GST. Failure to comply can mean big penalties.

“The penalties you might suffer can vary between 25 per cent and 75 per cent of the tax shortfall,” he said.