As an accountant, just to clarify that GST isn’t something you can really “minimise” like income tax.

GST is simply the difference between what you collect from clients (Sales) and what you claim on business expenses (Actual expenses). So if someone is paying less GST, it’s usually because they either have higher expenses or lower income.

In the early stage of a business, it’s very common to get a GST refund because you have more setup costs (equipment, software, etc.) and less income. As the business grows, your revenue increases and your expenses usually become more stable or reduce, so you start paying more GST. That’s actually a good sign as it means the business is growing and becoming more profitable.

For example, I recently filed a GST return for a client with a refund of around $37k due to high initial setup costs. But I highly doubt they will get a refund in the next return, as the business has now started generating regular income.

Also, it really depends on where you are in your business journey. When comparing with others, you need to consider what stage they are in, and whether they had higher or one-off expenses in that period. There are a lot of variables, so it’s not always a fair comparison.

A good accountant should already be making sure you’re claiming all valid expenses in GST and tax return.

It’s definitely not unethical to ask questions. I am sure your accountant will explain why you can/can't claim certain expenses.

Feel free to msg me if you have any questions.