July 1st No more overseas purchases allowed ????

[hotrodvideo]

Did I hear this right ?...... As reported on 3AW radio this aftternoon , an  Ebay representitive said they will block  Australian buyers from purchasing overseas so that eBay will not have to collect the 10% GST for the Australian government as of July 1st

[lyndal1838]

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@caryns wrote:

No GST is not payable on second hand items UNLESS you are a business registered for GST. A private individual selling/buying second-hand items does NOT charge/pay GST (e.g. an eBay seller who is not a business and who is selling clothing they no longer need cannot charge GST and neither can the buyer be charged it). So if I buy second-hand clothing from a private individual in the USA who is clearing out their closet I am not liable to pay GST at all. This was told to me by an accountant.

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Try reading what this legislation is all about.

The government wants to charge GST on all imported goods whether they are new or used.  To catch as many sellers as possible they are trying to say that platforms such as ebay etc are actually sellers and have to collect GST on ALL goods sold to Australians.

Now obviously most of the overseas sellers are not registered, nor eligible to be registered for GST but if the government has it's way ebay will have to somehow get GST from those sellers and remit it to the ATO.

As ebay has made it perfectly clear that they will not do this then it looks like their only option is to stop Australians from buying from overseas sellers.

The whole legislation is meant to overrule our current import threshhold of $1000.

[imastawka]

Looks like a 12 month reprieve, so they can get their act together

http://www.afr.com/news/govt-labor-in-talks-over-delaying-gst-on-online-sales-20170530-gwgafn

[4channel]

Gosh I hope not. everyone from Northern Soul collectors to Hi-Fi collectors to stamp collectors will be fuming. Most of their stuff is only available overseas. Amazon is good but just doesn't have the variety and excitement that eBay offers. What's going on!

[lyndal1838]

You will still be able to buy from overseas but will have to pay import charges and GST,  However, that has now been put off till July next year.

[4channel]

Well GST I could handle I suppose. Import charges, that's wrong expecially on second hand items for collectors. Great news to hear about a possible reprieve until July next year. Thanks for the info.

[lyndal1838]

That is the whole reason for the postponement....no-one can decide how it will operate and how it will be funded.

Most of us could live with the 10% GST but what will it cost us for it to be collected.

GST has always applied to second hand items as long as they are worth more than $1000 so no change there.

[ameliardcottage]

As I understand it, it is sellers who will be paying gst on the exorbitant eBay fees they pay and eBay will be responsible for collecting it from sellers. 

As a buyer gst is included in the price of the item you purchase, just as if you purchased something from Target. This does not apply to overseas purchases as there is no import duty payable on purchases under, I think $1000.

Australian businesses with a turnover of greater than $75000 have to register for gst and are responsible for collecting and paying it to the govt. This is why eBay is requesting business register so they are exept from collecting it from them.

Selllers that don't have a registered business and are not registered for GST pay it as income tax on their earnings. This means they will get double dipped, once when eBay collects it and again when they pay income tax.

From a sellers point of view (I am seller, but I am also buyer) the outcome will probably be an increase in prices to cover the additional expense.

[ameliardcottage]

Oops forgot to mention the GST (netflix tax) being proposed is on digital items like music, ebooks, apps and fees for services such as  eBay platform for sellers to sell their goods.

[imastawka]

Amelia,  you're muddying the waters on this thread.

The Netflix tax is an entirely different tax to the one mentioned in the OP

The 'import' gst tax has given buyers a 12 month reprieve.

There is a thread covering the Neflix tax on the Selling Board.

http://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Selling/Netflix-tax/m-p/2063285#M154269

[woodduck*2012]

I run a small smash repairs business in Australia and Ebay store i have an ABN not GST registered, for businesses registered for GST and selling on ebay the GST would be considered as being 10% of the total sale unless charged on top of the sale,  if you were to sell with free post incorperated into the sell price then GST would be payable on the total, its always on the total.

If you are a seller not registered for GST because your under the thresh hold like me, then you dont give a tax invoice ever or charge & collect GST,  GST is not concidered part of your total sale and any GST you pay out on stock or business claimable items is also claimable as a business expence, look up the GST tax laws, i have.

Any GST fight would be between your self and the ATO not you and EBay, EBay cannot force you to collect or charge GST if you are not registered as this would be against the law to collect GST when not registered to do so.

EBay Australia has been made to charge GST on its Fees because its fees are an income to EBay Australia, where that gets sticky is that ebay also charge you fees on your postage cost which already incorperates GST in the total postage.

Plus any purchase from over seas only attracts duties and Gst if the purchase exceeds $1000 and thats the law as far as customs & border force goes.

Its as simple as breaking up your order into smaller shipments so each shipment is under $1000, works fine for me.

China for example does not have GST and the Australian Government cannot force them to charge it, so they get **bleep**y over it and may in the future try to force EBay to collect it which cannot happen because EBay is not the seller, only an auction and seller tool.

Postage:

If you by postage direct from AU Post, they dont charge you postage plus Gst as Gst is already incorperated into the postage price.

If you use Au Post direct to pay and post then you will save on EBay fees and the Gst they charge on those postal fees.

Ebay Au parcel Post = say $7.60, fees on that is say 8%= $0.60 then the GST on the fees =$0.06, this adds up to 66 cents of unnessesary charges and thats just on postage, Through EBay it actually cost you $7.60+66cents=$8.26 for Australia post parcel post service.

Happy Days