logo
Restaurant owner only accepts cash in fight to keep institution 'old school'

Restaurant owner only accepts cash in fight to keep institution 'old school'

9 News22-04-2025

Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here A restaurant owner is fighting to keep his institution "old school" by only accepting cash payments and refusing to offer milk alternatives. Bar Italia has only been accepting cash since it opened in Sydney's Leichhardt in 1952. Owner Con Damouras said the decision came from his young children not knowing how to count money and the desire to keep circulating cash in a digital society . "There is people who get disappointed, we have a few that call us different names," he told 2GB Sydney. "We just say, 'Look, this is part of the institution and we're keeping it that way. Cash only'." Damouras had an ATM installed near his restaurant to help accommodate customers, who were previously walking up the road to the nearest ATM. "We contacted our bank, we said we're losing customers because most people are using credit cards," he told the radio show. Damouras also does not offer milk alternatives. Bar Italia in Leichhardt. (Edwina Pickles) Despite the old-fashioned way he does business, Bar Italia is bustling with people queuing up outside to get a seat. "It works for us, we don't lose many people," he told 2GB. "We just want to keep it old school, the way it was, the way it is." Damouras is one of millions of Australians fighting to keep cash circulating.  Today, about two million people are expected to participate in a cash-out protest against digital and card payments by withdrawing cash and using it at businesses. The organisers, cash advocacy group Cash Welcome, said they hope to "keep cash alive". Sydney
New South Wales
national
Australia
Cashless Society
business CONTACT US

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

You've won the $100 million lottery. Here's what happens next
You've won the $100 million lottery. Here's what happens next

Perth Now

timean hour ago

  • Perth Now

You've won the $100 million lottery. Here's what happens next

It has finally happened. You've won the biggest Powerball jackpot of 2025. So, what happens now? With a whopping $100 million up for grabs on Thursday night, here is a snapshot of what happens when you win a division one prize in the lottery. Staff from The Lott will be on standby to contact any registered division one winner on Thursday night, The Lott spokesperson Matt Hart said. 'So, take your mobile off silent and if you see a call from an 07 number shortly after 8.30pm, pick it up!,' Hart said. 'It could be me with some great news.' However, this is dependent on ticket holders registering their in-store or online entries with The Lott Members Club, and having their contact details up to date. Once you're declared the winner, what comes next? 'We've given you a buzz to let you know you've won division one,' Hart said. Previous winners say they were surprised by how their relationships did not change at all after learning of their wins. Credit: Getty Images 'You've screamed, you've dropped a few expletives and you're thinking of walking out of work for good. Division one winners receive a booklet detailing the answers to frequently asked questions, alongside a giant novelty cheque and winners gift pack. Whether you bought your ticket online or in-store, you'll receive your winnings two weeks after the draw. If your ticket is registered with The Lott, your prize will be sent straight into your online account. If you purchased your ticket in-store, you need to return to the store and return your ticket to claim your prize. 'That's why holding on tight to your paper ticket is a very good idea,' Hart said. 'It could be worth a lot of money.' After returning to the store of purchase, winners must complete a prize claim form. The prize money will then be sent to your nominated bank account. 'It's not by a cheque in the post,' Hart said. 'You don't need a special bank account, even if you're about to get tens of millions dropped into it!' 'We strongly recommend our winners seek financial advice tailored to their circumstances so they enjoy the benefits of their prize for many years to come,' Hart said. 'However, we do not organise this for winners ourselves. 'When we've spoken to previous big winners, they have echoed this. 'As one said, 'my biggest piece of advice to any big lottery winner is to run, don't walk, to a financial adviser'.' Unlike some other countries, Australians do not have to pay any tax on their lottery prizes. 'However, they could be taxed on earnings they make on the prize,' Hart said. For example, you may have to pay tax on interest earned on your winnings in your bank account. '(This) is why we always recommend financial advice,' Hart said. This is 'completely up to the winners', Hart said. 'Some couples have told us they haven't even shared the news with their children as they didn't want them to grow up feeling entitled or privileged, while others happily tell their close family and friends.' The Lott's winners pamphlet advises successful entrants to think about what they will say before they tell anyone, and to consider whether they will share any of their prize with them. Previous winners say they were surprised by how their relationships did not change at all. Australian winners have been described as being 'more pragmatic' than their overseas counterparts. Credit: Supplied A South Australian division one winner told friends and family because they were concerned about the impacts of keeping a secret that big. 'I thought, 'I'm not going to keep it secret from them, I'm going to tell everyone' because I don't want people to say 'why didn't you tell me?',' they said. 'No one asked me for a thing. Not one person. I find that really refreshing.' 'Australian winners seem to be a much more pragmatic bunch than their overseas counterparts,' Hart said. 'They've heard the stories of the UK winners who've blown it all. 'For the vast majority, they want to pay off the house and make the money work for them and their families for many years to come.' Hart has previously said winners made room to achieve dreams like attending the Monaco Grand Prix and skydiving over the Gold Coast. As always, the Lott advises winners to consult financial advisers and professionals to help them make the most out of their prize.

Mark Bouris rails against Labor's controversial super, unrealised gains tax; issues alarming message to young Australians
Mark Bouris rails against Labor's controversial super, unrealised gains tax; issues alarming message to young Australians

Sky News AU

time2 hours ago

  • Sky News AU

Mark Bouris rails against Labor's controversial super, unrealised gains tax; issues alarming message to young Australians

Millionaire and businessman Mark Bouris has cautioned younger Australians to be aware of the dangerous risks posed by Labor's contentious super, unrealised gains tax, stating 'every young person' in the country 'should be worried'. Labor's plan to double the tax rate from 15 to 30 per cent on super accounts over $3 million looks set to pass both houses when parliament resumes in July, with the Greens expected to join with Labor in the Senate to ram the legislation through. However, the plan, which also targets unrealised capital gains has attracted a myriad of critics including top fund managers, leading economists and former Treasury officials who have argued the policy is reckless and unprecedented in nature. Despite Treasurer Jim Chalmers repeatedly claiming the policy will only affect 80,000 Australians or 0.5 per cent of the population, industry magnates have outlined that due to the threshold not being indexed with inflation, millions of young Australians could fall victim to the tax in the coming decades. In the latest episode of his Mentored+ podcast, Mr Bouris outlined that young Australians should be extremely concerned by the tax proposal, and that the super accounts of Australians starting work today would eventually be ransacked as a result. 'The people that are going to be affected by that the most is anyone starting work today, any new young person,' Mr Bouris said. 'So, if you're a young person saying this is great, because the rich people are going to transfer the wealth across to the younger people, you will be transferring it to your kids and it's going to keep going like that forever'. The businessman who is best known for founding Wizard Home Loans, Australia's second largest non-bank mortgage lender also said that older Australians had struggled to amass superannuation savings with a low tax rate, and that the tax hike would only make things harder for younger Australians. 'Every young person in the country should be worried about this, and I'll tell you why: because every old person in the country has experienced building their superannuation up with only 15 per cent tax rate from day 1, for the last 30, 40 years'. 'We've had this, all of us had this fantastic low-tax situation with the money we earn in our super fund,' Mr Bouris said, adding that young people who accumulate more than $3 million worth of assets "will not have the same benefits that everyone else had had'. Former Labor Prime Minister and chief architect of compulsory superannuation Paul Keating is reportedly incensed by the policy, telling industry super executives and union leaders last August the plan was 'unconscionable', and that it would turn superannuation into a low-and middle-income pension scheme. Mr Bouris said the former ALP Prime Minister, who introduced compulsory superannuation in 1992 'must be feeling completely demoralised and probably to some extent betrayed' by the reforms, stating that Mr Keating had long argued for government to refrain from imposing excessive levies on super. 'All (Labor's changes) is going to do is put more strain on government when people retire, because people are not going to retire with enough money because they are going to be paying too much tax," he said. 'So if you're a young person and you're saying, 'Oh, this is great', because you're gonna get rich people to transfer the wealth across to the younger people – uh-uh." From July 12 the majority of Australian workers will have 12 per cent of their wages paid to a superannuation fund, representing a 0.5 per cent increase from the current threshold.

Powerball jackpot: What happens after you've won the lottery?
Powerball jackpot: What happens after you've won the lottery?

7NEWS

time2 hours ago

  • 7NEWS

Powerball jackpot: What happens after you've won the lottery?

It has finally happened. You've won the biggest Powerball jackpot of 2025. So, what happens now? With a whopping $100 million up for grabs on Thursday night, here is a snapshot of what happens when you win a division one prize in the lottery. Staff from The Lott will be on standby to contact any registered division one winner on Thursday night, The Lott spokesperson Matt Hart said. 'So, take your mobile off silent and if you see a call from an 07 number shortly after 8.30pm, pick it up!,' Hart said. 'It could be me with some great news.' However, this is dependent on ticket holders registering their in-store or online entries with The Lott Members Club, and having their contact details up to date. Once you're declared the winner, what comes next? 'We've given you a buzz to let you know you've won division one,' Hart said. 'You've screamed, you've dropped a few expletives and you're thinking of walking out of work for good. Division one winners receive a booklet detailing the answers to frequently asked questions, alongside a giant novelty cheque and winners gift pack. How do winners get their prize? Whether you bought your ticket online or in-store, you'll receive your winnings two weeks after the draw. If your ticket is registered with The Lott, your prize will be sent straight into your online account. If you purchased your ticket in-store, you need to return to the store and return your ticket to claim your prize. 'That's why holding on tight to your paper ticket is a very good idea,' Hart said. 'It could be worth a lot of money.' After returning to the store of purchase, winners must complete a prize claim form. The prize money will then be sent to your nominated bank account. 'It's not by a cheque in the post,' Hart said. 'You don't need a special bank account, even if you're about to get tens of millions dropped into it!' Does The Lott provide financial advice? 'We strongly recommend our winners seek financial advice tailored to their circumstances so they enjoy the benefits of their prize for many years to come,' Hart said. 'However, we do not organise this for winners ourselves. 'When we've spoken to previous big winners, they have echoed this. 'As one said, 'my biggest piece of advice to any big lottery winner is to run, don't walk, to a financial adviser'.' Do you have to pay tax on your winnings? Unlike some other countries, Australians do not have to pay any tax on their lottery prizes. 'However, they could be taxed on earnings they make on the prize,' Hart said. For example, you may have to pay tax on interest earned on your winnings in your bank account. '(This) is why we always recommend financial advice,' Hart said. Who should I tell? This is 'completely up to the winners', Hart said. 'Some couples have told us they haven't even shared the news with their children as they didn't want them to grow up feeling entitled or privileged, while others happily tell their close family and friends.' The Lott's winners pamphlet advises successful entrants to think about what they will say before they tell anyone, and to consider whether they will share any of their prize with them. Previous winners say they were surprised by how their relationships did not change at all. A South Australian division one winner told friends and family because they were concerned about the impacts of keeping a secret that big. 'I thought, 'I'm not going to keep it secret from them, I'm going to tell everyone' because I don't want people to say 'why didn't you tell me?',' they said. 'No one asked me for a thing. Not one person. I find that really refreshing.' How do I avoid spending it all too soon? 'Australian winners seem to be a much more pragmatic bunch than their overseas counterparts,' Hart said. 'They've heard the stories of the UK winners who've blown it all. 'For the vast majority, they want to pay off the house and make the money work for them and their families for many years to come.' Hart has previously said winners made room to achieve dreams like attending the Monaco Grand Prix and skydiving over the Gold Coast. As always, the Lott advises winners to consult financial advisers and professionals to help them make the most out of their prize.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store