An Australian influencer is facing backlash online over her wild spending habits.
TikTok star Sam Todd, 30, who recently documented her lavish trip to Disneyland Japan, posts weekly videos of her new designer handbags, jewellery and Pop Mart collectibles.
Todd, who has 269.5k followers, also claims her purchases could be legitimately written off as ‘business expenses’.
She has lost several followers who have grown tired of her ‘out of touch overconsumption’ while many believe she is a bad influence on her younger followers.
‘Maybe I’m too close-minded, but her constant need and desire to buy things (that are quite frankly useless) is concerning,’ said a Reddit user on a post about the influencer earlier this month.
‘I actually would consider myself an extremely open-minded person, I accept all kinda of hobbies and collecting and whatnot – to each their own.
TikTok star Sam Todd, 30, who is known for her luxury lifestyle, is facing backlash online from followers over her tax-deductible spending
‘But there is a weird vibe about the fact that she’s able to spend this much money, as well as promote to other people to buy so much useless garbage.’
Another Reddit user on the same thread added, ‘I had to block her for this reason.
‘It was warping my own sense of what’s normal consumption.
‘Every video was a new trinket obsession or a ‘must have’ accessory. Her content used to be fun, but it just lacks balance and is very out of touch.’
Todd’s recent posts include a shopping video in which she splurged on jewellery from luxury fashion brand Swarovski, as well as travel clips around Japan.
Daily Mail has approached Todd for comment.
An Australian Taxation Office spokesperson explained to The Daily Telegraph the details behind tax perks available to social media stars.
‘Influencers who earn an accessible income from content creation are entitled to claim deductions for expenses,’ the spokesperson said.
TikTok star Sam Todd, 30, who recently documented a lavish trip to Disneyland Japan , attracted criticism after previously revealing she ‘hardly paid full price for anything’
Todd, who has 269.5k followers, also revealed her purchases could be legitimately written off as ‘business expenses’
Todd’s recent posts include a shopping video in which she splurged on jewellery from luxury fashion brand Swarovski, as well as travel clips around Japan
They continued: ‘Where you spent the money yourself and did not get reimbursed, the expense directly relates to the income you earned and is not private in nature, and you have a record to prove it.’
However, the spokesperson explained that influencers also faced restrictions on their tax deductions.
‘If the expense was incurred for both income earning and private purposes, you can only claim a deduction for the proportion that relates to the income earning activity,’ the ATO spokesperson said.
‘This is determined on a case-by-case basis, including how you use the item for which the expense was incurred.’
Last year, Todd boasted about ‘rarely [paying] full price for anything’ in one of her popular videos.
At the time, she was promoting an online fashion accessory business and flaunting a $600 second-hand Jacquemus bag that she had received for free as part of the promotion.
When asked by a follower whether her purchases were tax-deductible business purchases because they were the basis of her content, Todd confirmed that they were.
