Australian Gst on imported goods is 5% not 10%

[elderbluedragon]

I thought i would check the gst implementation out on some items i had in my cart and it looks like its 5%  and not 10%   🙂

12.19am  01/07/18

and there is no GST on postage which is good

here is a copy and paste of 3 items 2 are Euro $ and 1 is US $

my post code has been editied

label value Items (3) AU $245.94

Postage to ( my location ) AU $60.48

GST AU $13.75    

Total AU $320.16

hope it stays this way

5% i can handle

10% is too much on items under $1000 

[papermoon.lady]

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@tangledstitches wrote:

etsy has been showing that for well over a year now.  They didn't bring that in for this particular tax.

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You are right. Wow, what a mess! I checked the same item in TOR browser to avoid location detection and it showed a certain amount in USD, then I went back to Firefox and changed the default currency in my Etsy account to USD. It then showed exactly the same amount as in TOR browser, which means GST had not been applied as indicated.

[lizd160904]

What bothers me the most is that every overseas seller is having it applied, no matter if they earn over 75k or not. So the govt is getting taxes they are not morally or legally entitled to.....

[lyndal1838]

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@papermoon.lady wrote:

I just visited Etsy and it is all very clear. The GST is included even before adding items to the cart, let alone checking out.

This is what is under the price: GST included (where applicable)

I really wish eBay had done the same.

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You obviously have no idea what this even means.  The "where appicable" is the important phrase here.

Every Australian business should have this on their invoices.....all it means is that they are quoting prices that are GST inclusive so they are covered in the event that they turnover $75000 and have to register for GST.

No business should add GST as an extra charge after the sale.

They can increase their prices to cover their GST payment but cannot add it after the sale.

Just for your information, all ebay prices are GST inclusive where applicable.   Some sellers will have it added to their sales, some will not.

[malvineous]

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@lyndal1838 wrote:No business should add GST as an extra charge after the sale.

They can increase their prices to cover their GST payment but cannot add it after the sale.

Just for your information, all ebay prices are GST inclusive where applicable.   Some sellers will have it added to their sales, some will not.

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To be fair the prices shown for overseas sellers all appear to be GST-exclusive until you add the items to your cart.  You only get to see the GST you will pay when you look in your cart, and only then it's a total so you don't know whether it applies to only some items and not others.  So the prices shown in the search results, the item listings and the shopping cart are all GST-exclusive, and it's only the shopping cart total that is "GST inclusive (where applicable)".

To confirm this, I just tried adding two items to my cart, one from Australia and one from China, and the GST amount was 10% of the Chinese item's price but there was no way to actually tell that I was only paying GST on the overseas item and not the Australian one.

[papermoon.lady]

Yes, I did some experiments too this morning and I agree 100% with you.

Anyway, I will look for vintage items at vintage markets from now on, which is much more fun anyway.

[lyndal1838]

And you will pay GST on the vintage items if the sellers are registered for GST.

You cannot escape it.

[scootaolle]

typical arrogance of ebay.anyone see any notices from ebay as to the gst changes? treating everyone like ''mushrooms''again.my checks are very varied some items for sale have what the gst would be,other showing nothing.wouldn't it be great for buyers if another''ebay'' started up to keep the ''**bleep**s honest'' aint gunna happen ,ebay would buy em out to preserve their monopoly.

[papermoon.lady]

They are mostly private persons who sell personal items to get rid of them because of lack of space for example or because they need some extra cash. They are usually not GST-registered sellers (people usually also pay in cash at markets anyway). I have found super bargains at such markets sometimes. OP shops are another story and yes, GST usually appears on their receipts.

[lyndal1838]

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@malvineous wrote:

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@lyndal1838 wrote:No business should add GST as an extra charge after the sale.

They can increase their prices to cover their GST payment but cannot add it after the sale.

Just for your information, all ebay prices are GST inclusive where applicable.   Some sellers will have it added to their sales, some will not.

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To be fair the prices shown for overseas sellers all appear to be GST-exclusive until you add the items to your cart.  You only get to see the GST you will pay when you look in your cart, and only then it's a total so you don't know whether it applies to only some items and not others.  So the prices shown in the search results, the item listings and the shopping cart are all GST-exclusive, and it's only the shopping cart total that is "GST inclusive (where applicable)".

How do you expect the GST to be shown on an overseas seller's items before they are sold?  No-one knows what country the buyer is going to be in.  As soon as you purchase the GST has been added to the one imported item.

Just to put this in perspective.....this GST push is on IMPORTED items, not on items from Australian sellers.

To confirm this, I just tried adding two items to my cart, one from Australia and one from China, and the GST amount was 10% of the Chinese item's price but there was no way to actually tell that I was only paying GST on the overseas item and not the Australian one. 

As I have said....this GST is on imported items, not items from Australian sellers.

It looks to me as though ebay has got it correct....they are applying the GST to overseas items only.

If the Aussie seller is liable for GST then that is between them and the ATO, nothing to do with ebay.

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[kopenhagen5]

From today's news.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/07/01/09/54/gst-on-overseas-purchases