@v8goody wrote:
Why would the postal service lose money? They don’t deliver for free. Don’t think only because it says “free postage” it is free. I also don’t think the extra tax collected get past into the postal services.
Also, all of the low cost items are made outside Australia anyway. I’m just saving the 100% profit for the guy who import the stuff.
I suggest you read up on the Universal Postal Union.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Postal_Union
Under that agreement Australia Post, as our national postage service, has an obligation to deliver overseas mail that arrives on our shores. They do not receive any money from China Post for delivering items from China. There is supposed to be meetings where imbalances are rectified (terminal dues), but there are reports that it costs Aust Post money under the agreement . . . . which I might just add was struck in 1874.
I'm not saying that any GST collected goes to Aust Post, but as it is wholly government owned their losses are Aust government losses . . . . . therefore, as I posted earlier, GST collected on low-cost online imports might just offset those postal costs a little on the government ledger.
I also do not believe that free postage items from China don't cost anything to post. The Chinese government heavily subsidises international postage items out of China knowing that once they arrive in the destination country they will be delivered. A seller in China can list items with free postage and only pay a few cents to China Post for postage.
