Thread: States push for gst on lower value imports.

Hello from Brisbane.

The usual suspects (Harvey Norman, Coles etc) are screaming for it. But, from all accounts it would end up costing more to collect the GST than the revenue it will raise. So, I am hoping that the government isn't as dopey on this as it seems to be on most other things.

Cheers,

I don't think I'd be off the mark if I said that people don't shop overseas to avoid the GST.
I shop overseas to get things the Australian wholesalers refuse to import.
There was one item I bought two of at about $600 each. When I approached the importer to get the third in the set, they were totally disinterested. I approached a distributor in the states. By the time it arrived, it had cost me $40. The Australian distributor had a hell of a mark up.
I know many others on the forum buy from overseas because it is a lot cheaper. Sometimes, by the time it's landed, less than half price here.
I think all this will do is give the state governments more money to waste.

I'd still shop overseas, even if only to stick it up Gerry Whingebag Harvey.

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

I don't think I'd be off the mark if I said that people don't shop overseas to avoid the GST.
I shop overseas to get things the Australian wholesalers refuse to import.
There was one item I bought two of at about $600 each. When I approached the importer to get the third in the set, they were totally disinterested. I approached a distributor in the states. By the time it arrived, it had cost me $40. The Australian distributor had a hell of a mark up.
I know many others on the forum buy from overseas because it is a lot cheaper. Sometimes, by the time it's landed, less than half price here.
I think all this will do is give the state governments more money to waste.

x2.

However I suspect that:
The current government would be inclined to find a way to make it economical - e.g. make you collect all parcels from A/Post and get A/Post to collect the GST + a handling fee.

On the flip side though it wouldn't help them win the next election, and as stated it would not change most people's OS purchasing.

My guess is that it is unlikely to change by a significant margin, simply because of the cost of collection. (I don't know if the breakeven point is exactly at $1000, but it is probably not all that far from there.)

A difference from previous agitation about this is that this time, the push is coming from the state governments, not the retailers. And they have a somewhat better case. All GST revenue is shared by the states, so the question as to whether it influences people to buy locally is pretty irrelevant; and increase in GST revenue goes straight to the states, and I suspect that collection costs stay with the Commonwealth, which may dampen their enthusiasm!

John

I'm afraid I just don't understand how you can pay GST when you have not bought the item in Australia.
I mean, when we moved to Oz we brought most things with us from the UK. Will anyone in a similar situation have to somehow prove that none of the goods they're bringing with them are new & liable for GST?
And there's another point - if you buy a second hand item from overseas, will they still try to sting you for GST?
What if you've already paid the local GST in the country of origin? Surely that's like when you work overseas & pay taxes locally - the ATO doesn't get to tax you as well.

Originally Posted by Ratel10mm

I'm afraid I just don't understand how you can pay GST when you have not bought the item in Australia.
...

If you bought it in Australia, in other words, if the goods were delivered in Australia, then GST is payable, as it is intended to be a consumption tax not a sales tax. There are exemptions for some classes of goods, and purely as an administrative convenience, GST is not collected on goods valued at less than a set amount (currently $1000) imported from overseas. Similarly, GST is not collected from sellers within Australia who are not registered for GST - they have a strong incentive to register and collect, as unless they do, they cannot claim back the GST paid on inputs.

GST is paid whether the goods are new or second hand - this is irrelevant to the tax.

A further concession is that migrants are permitted to bring in with themselves a limited amount of household goods free of GST and duty - the restrictions on what you bring under this concession are not specified in the Tax Act, but the Customs Act.

Worth noting that Australia had little choice but to bring in the GST, once other countries started doing it, as it is the only form of tax that can, under GATT rules, discriminate in favour of exports (since it is a consumption tax, it is not payable on exports, but is on imports or local consumption).

John