Netflix tax

[stickerswa]

Just got an email from ebay...

From 1 July 2017, Goods and Services Tax (GST) will apply to fees on eBay.com.au, due to new legislation in Australia (the "Netflix Tax").

Businesses registered for GST will not be affected by this change if you register your Australian Business Number (ABN) with eBay here.

Anyone else feel a fee increase coming to cover this....

[found-in-australia]

GST "should" have been applicable to the fees, at minimum on all Australia to Australia transactions conducted specifically on the Ebay Australia site from 1st July 2000 onwards. It was ludicrous that Ebay, who from memory had an office in the North Sydney area and representatives at collectors fairs, did not even hold an Australian ABN number for quite a while after that.

I had thought that Ebay's objection to the so-called "Netflix Tax" was that they were going to be expected to collect tax on foreign goods sold to Australian buyers (and if that were the case I would agree with their objections), not that they objected to an appropriate payment of GST tax on Australian transactions on a site that they deem to be their Australian site.

In my opinion this application of the tax being applicable on the fees generated on the Australian Ebay site (at least by Australian sellers) is both appropriate and overdue.

[jfmgray]

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@found-in-australia wrote:

In my opinion this application of the tax being applicable on the fees generated on the Australian Ebay site (at least by Australian sellers) is both appropriate and overdue.

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I do not disagree, but I am not sure the "netflix" tax commencing on 1 July was intended to do this.  My issue is that the email from eBay is not clear and the link to register your ABN has different advice to that contained in the email. It is totally confusing.

[digital*ghost]

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@ozstockman wrote:
pdme_dolls, I guess it should be completelly opposite to what they are actually saying. An exempt should be applied to those who are not registered for GST and they do not need to do anything, all others should provide an ABN and a business name. It makes sense that way only

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The way they are doing it is the right way, if it has to be done. I don't think supplying an ABN to eBay will exempt a seller from having to pay GST, it should just be for record keeping purposes so that when the seller then goes to claim the GST paid to eBay in credits at tax time, it can be checked / cross referenced properly. (That's why they are saying GST-registered sellers won't be affected, because they'll pay more through the course of doing business, but at tax time they'll claim it all back).

For those not registered to collect GST, they'll have to simply pay it, just like any other consumer - it can be claimed as a cost, but not claimed for credit. 

This won't affect eBay or their profits in any way, really, except in accounting work and costs I suppose, all it will do is increase the cost to use eBay AU, and send that money to the gov. 

Sending an email with the subject line "Netflix Tax" was a bit silly; they definitely could have approached it a lot better and provided working links, but can't really blame eBay for this one. I'll probably have to increase prices on everything by a little (up to about $1), but still not looking forward to the increase.

Apparently the GST on imports was pushed back for another 12 months, so that's something (for me, anyway). 

[found-in-australia]

JFMGray,

Yes, all of the communications by Ebay relating to this tax since they first flagged it and wanted customers to go in to bat for them, have been both confusing and ambiguous. I actually feel that they tried to dupe us with the previous communications, *IF* it turns out that the outcome is that it is simply Ebay Australia fees being GST applicable.....

Kind Regards,  Kevin

[found-in-australia]

Digital*Ghost said "Apparently the GST on imports was pushed back for another 12 months, so that's something (for me, anyway)."

I hadn't heard that, but that is also what should have happened. What they were proposing by July 1st needed much more preparation to be workable, when it still hadn't been passed. That is, of course, if it can be workable - I really can't see many overseas sellers agreeing to collect taxes for a foreign government, which is basically part of what was proposed.

[banter0416]

I attemped to enter my ABN and registered name "the same as the one used by the tax authority" as they requested but the field is not big enough for the name - it only allows 15 characters!! What happens now?

[banter0416]

Actually it says the Business/Company name is optional, If so and I don't enter the business name how will they cross match it with my seller account?

[635154gt]

Just to add my pennies worth..

The ABN field rejects numbers as " not au format".

Beginning to wonder about the authenticity of this email.

[brumby45]

Treat with caution

[digital*ghost]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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The way they are doing it is the right way, if it has to be done. I don't think supplying an ABN to eBay will exempt a seller from having to pay GST, it should just be for record keeping purposes so that when the seller then goes to claim the GST paid to eBay in credits at tax time, it can be checked / cross referenced properly. (That's why they are saying GST-registered sellers won't be affected, because they'll pay more through the course of doing business, but at tax time they'll claim it all back).

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Hmm... Just came across another thread about this on a different site; I don't think I can link to them because it's a different shopping site, but there's a poster there who put up a response from eBay about this that suggests supplying an ABN to them will exempt sellers from having GST added to their invoices. 

I can't see how that will work, unless I'm missing something? I have an ABN, but I am not registered to collect GST- all the other products and services I purchase (from Australian suppliers) for my business aren't GST-exempt just because I have an ABN, so I wouldn't expect eBay to be either once they have to collect it as well. o_O