Why is Ebay charging GST on used items?

[netscrounger]

The Australian government imposed GST charges on online sales to protect "Brick and mortar" businesses, I get that, but why an I expected to pay an extra $30 on a set of obsolete used motorcycle carbs that I'm buying from a private seller in the US? What a scam! Cancel my bid thanks!

[lehun_2995]

Hi I have been ripped off charged more than once for a few items that I haven't even received yet paid until I cancelled payment options through PayPal and cancelled my debit card. I was shocked and want a f€$@ing refu d and more what a let down. And I though I was doing my finance alright what a let down Paypal and EBay. I let myself down. Please help me asap asap asap.

[lyndal1838]

What has this got to do with the GST which is the subject of this thread.

You need to start another thread nd give a lot more information if you want help.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

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@brettmoose01 wrote:
Incorrect. GST should only be applied if your business has a turnover of $75000 annually. Same should apply for overseas sellers but it doesn't it is a blanket approach.

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under the GST on low-cost imports legislation it is eBay that is deemed to be the ‘seller’ as the Electronic Delivery Platform and not those overseas members that sell on eBay 

I would be concerned if eBay were somehow able to avoid the GST if they claimed less than A$75,000 turnover into Australian annually.

[tenhaem]

Ummmm - Consumers would NOT assume they would be charged taxes (Twice). Appart from not making sense it should be illegal to be chaged Sales Tax for Goods/Service charge in one country and another country then taxing you on a total amount that already includes TAX! It's double dipping! Australian Govt is being -  GREEDY!  And...Second Hand goods were NEVER charged GST as a tax on new itmes (that have ALREADY) had Sales/GST included at the time of the original purchase of the item when New. It's not rocket science (to all the smart -sses out there stating daaaaa why would you think you shouldn't pay GST on a second hand item)

Response - daaaaaa becuase the item has already had sales/GST charged at original purchase - you can't charge twice! Unless you are a greedy Australian Govt.  If Australian Govt thinks it will make Australian consumers buy in Australia - I've got news for them 😞 

[tenhaem]

FALSE!

[tenhaem]

Incorrect!

Australian consumers will have to pay a 10% goods and services tax on all onlinegoods bought from overseas from 1 July next year. ... It means imports of goodsworth less than $1,000, which are now GST-free, will no longer be exempt from the tax.

[padi*0409]

All three of your posts either contain misinformation or are wrong, I suggest you read the whole thread , or even better phone the tax office and get the truth of the GST charges from them.

[digital*ghost]

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@tenhaem wrote:

Ummmm - Consumers would NOT assume they would be charged taxes (Twice). Appart from not making sense it should be illegal to be chaged Sales Tax for Goods/Service charge in one country and another country then taxing you on a total amount that already includes TAX! It's double dipping! Australian Govt is being -  GREEDY!  And...Second Hand goods were NEVER charged GST as a tax on new itmes (that have ALREADY) had Sales/GST included at the time of the original purchase of the item when New. It's not rocket science (to all the smart -sses out there stating daaaaa why would you think you shouldn't pay GST on a second hand item)

Response - daaaaaa becuase the item has already had sales/GST charged at original purchase - you can't charge twice! Unless you are a greedy Australian Govt.  If Australian Govt thinks it will make Australian consumers buy in Australia - I've got news for them 😞 

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You can't assume Australians are paying for the tax in other countries, either. 

For example, in the US, sales tax is added on to the total afterwards, not included in the price. Also, many sellers in various countries who do have to include domestic taxes in their prices, will then lower the postage costs to international destinations by an equal amount so that overall, international customers aren't paying for domestic taxes. 

Plus, it would only be "double dipping" if the Aus government got paid twice, and they certainly don't see a cent of taxes collected in other countries. 

GST isn't about the condition of the item, it's about the status of the business selling the item. If a business is registered to collect GST, they have to collect GST on any items that are eligible for it, regardless of the item condition. 

[lyndal1838]

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@tenhaem wrote:

Incorrect!

Australian consumers will have to pay a 10% goods and services tax on all onlinegoods bought from overseas from 1 July next year. ... It means imports of goodsworth less than $1,000, which are now GST-free, will no longer be exempt from the tax.

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Are you saying that the GST on low value imports does not come into effect till July 2020?

Where have you been for the last 12 months?   Maybe you need to contact the ATO and let them know that they have made a mistake and shoud not have been charging GST for all this time.

[countessalmirena]

@tenhaem,

You may want to read through this thread, where the 10% GST on low-value imported goods (including to what it applies, when it came into effect, who is responsible for collecting it, etc.) is discussed and explained with excerpts from the actual legislation.

I hope it helps to clarify the current situation for you; I know there is some confusion about how exactly this is implemented, and it never hurts to check the details.