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!
I have written this before, we are a small nation compared to US, UK, Germany etc. and yes we need more buying powers and tax exceptions and need boost for our online sales..Instead of this what we have now from our government? There is heaps of people in Australia, small e-businesses, collectors, local stores & online resellers..those people find bargains in overseas, buy and resell in the australian market, this keeps the market alive and circulates the money..this Gerrey tax directly will hit and kill these people. Im a diecast car collector and i buy from overseas mainly from Germany UK and US. Keep some of the cars for my collection and sell other extra cars that come with the combined postage. That way make a little bit money for the next overseas order and also keep some extra money for new releases in Australia (buying from Australian retails bigw, kmart, woolies etc) Yeah kind of disappointment now, have items from 8 different ebay overseas seller in my cart, just looking them in the chart for 2 weeks but trying to contact sellers if they agree selling out of EBay..as they are all individuals and hobby sellers..some of them aggreed some have no idea of joining and selling in other social platforms ..
So you're saying the other taxpayers should subsidise your hobby rather than everyone in Australia paying GST on the goods they buy? Why should only the few pay taxes?
This is beginning to sound like the people who whinge about postage costing too much and they think the govt can subsidise it so they can continue to do their selling in an inefficient manner.
There is heaps of people in Australia, small e-businesses, collectors, local stores & online resellers..
And I am one of them.
I kept all of my stock imports below the $1000 threshold, which allowed me some advantages and kept my prices lower, now I have to pay 10% more for my stock (I'm not registered to collect GST, so while it's an expense, I don't get input credits), and if I want to continue to keep my imports under $1000 to avoid other duties, I can't buy as much with each stock purchase. If you think I love this new change on a personal level, I don't, but as an Australian operating a business, I can look beyond what affects me directly.
BTW, I decided to look up how many countries have a 0 import threshold. There are 109 countries listed here, and 58 are listed as having a 0 threshold for tax - but it's outdated, since Aus is still listed with a $1000 threshold, so that likely puts the count at 59 - more than half.
The government is doing to these companies exactly what it did to small business in this country - GST - make the company responsible for collecting the GST (ie:BAS) Saves the government money as all their work is done for free.
It becomes a problem when these overseas companies (ie: Ebay, Pitney Bowes, Paypal etc are not completely open and above board in collecting this money and reporting it. It will be costing them money to run all this and sure they will charge for it in one way or another. As my hobby is collecting old toys from individual sellers who rarely would get anywhere near a 75000 GST threshold and sell second hand goods which will not be onsold for a very long time (till I die) then yes I am a bit peeved about it all. I neither affect the Harvey Normans of this world as what I buy is like nothing they sell and if I want a TV I would go to JB Hifi rather than Harvey Norman anyway as they are mostly priced lower.
Its all just another government fund raising joke but I can wear the 10% on the items coming in but damned peed off at having to pay GST on the postal cost to me from overseas. Postage is going up due to snail mail dying and all postal services are increasing costs to cover this. Sadly all they are all doing is killing the goose that lays the golden egg and I forsee that soon online sales will drop, postage revenue will drop and all comapnies will suffer in the end. I do know my buying will be dropped back quite a bit and not just because of GST but all the factors above. If I buy from overseas auction houses there is now almost a 30% commission charge plus a high postage cost and now GST so a GBP 100 item becomes 130, addon around 30-40 postage = 160-170 and then GST and I'm at roughly 180 - 190 total cost which I will never ever recoup on an item costing an original 100 quid as it has nearly doubled. Sadly my family will have to deal with this as I'll be all nice and crispy by then.
The government is doing to these companies exactly what it did to small business in this country - GST - make the company responsible for collecting the GST (ie:BAS) Saves the government money as all their work is done for free.
It becomes a problem when these overseas companies (ie: Ebay, Pitney Bowes, Paypal etc are not completely open and above board in collecting this money and reporting it. It will be costing them money to run all this and sure they will charge for it in one way or another. As my hobby is collecting old toys from individual sellers who rarely would get anywhere near a 75000 GST threshold and sell second hand goods which will not be onsold for a very long time (till I die) then yes I am a bit peeved about it all. I neither affect the Harvey Normans of this world as what I buy is like nothing they sell and if I want a TV I would go to JB Hifi rather than Harvey Norman anyway as they are mostly priced lower.
Its all just another government fund raising joke but I can wear the 10% on the items coming in but damned peed off at having to pay GST on the postal cost to me from overseas. Postage is going up due to snail mail dying and all postal services are increasing costs to cover this. Sadly all they are all doing is killing the goose that lays the golden egg and I forsee that soon online sales will drop, postage revenue will drop and all comapnies will suffer in the end. I do know my buying will be dropped back quite a bit and not just because of GST but all the factors above. If I buy from overseas auction houses there is now almost a 30% commission charge plus a high postage cost and now GST so a GBP 100 item becomes 130, addon around 30-40 postage = 160-170 and then GST and I'm at roughly 180 - 190 total cost which I will never ever recoup on an item costing an original 100 quid as it has nearly doubled. Sadly my family will have to deal with this as I'll be all nice and crispy by then.
_________________________________________________
I posted this to another collector who posts on these boards (in relation to the GSP, but it applies here too) . . . . . . the upshot of the GST on imports is that your collection has now increased in value.
Think about it, if you have two of one particular toy then you can list one of them and ask a premium price. The reason is that anyone in Australia who wants that toy for their collection will have to pay the GST and inflated postage on an overseas listing for that toy, BUT, as you are in Australia and not registered to collect GST you can ask just a little less than these now inflated overseas asking prices i.e. increased overseas item prices = increase in what you can ask for the same item when selling to Aussie buyers.
trust me when I say this next bit . . . . . unless one of your kids shares your passion for collecting toys, AND appreciates the value of your collection, it may be sold off for just a small fraction of its collectable value once you are gone.
How do I know this? My father had collections. The effort in selling off individual items from his vast collection was too much for some of my brothers and sisters to contemplate. Some of them were keen to just sell off the whole collection as a single lot to another collector . . . . . . but the best offer we got was for about 25% of its true value.
So, 6 years after his passing I am still slowly selling off bits and pieces from his collection as I don’t want to flood the market with his particular collecting passion as supply and demand will reduce the prices I can sell for.
@c_mount wrote: Legally it shouldn't be! Tax was already paid when those items were originally purchased.
The act of reselling adds value. The gst is effectively charged on the mark up as an input credit is deduct against original purhase.eg you buy in at $10 and resell for $20. seller gets an imput credit deduction on the $10 to offset the gst on $20..hence the actual liability is the difference (or service cost)..havn't been registered for GST for years but that is the way it used to be.
(I am replying to my own post so that no individual poster thinks I am singling them out for special mention)
I am sick of those who are buying non-essential items complaining about the GST on low-cost imports. The usual line on multiple threads seems to now centre on the following arguments:
- it is a second-hand item
- the goods I buy are for private use
- goods are from casual sellers (not businesses)
- I am being charged GST on postage service
- goods that have previously had tax paid when they were new
- ludicrous questions like “I pay tax on my income so why am I taxed twice through GST on imports?”
- I am buying hobby items not for re-sale
- Gerry Harvey blah blah blah Harvey Norman
- if you don’t share our outrage you are a government puppet
In case anyone has any doubt, these arguments just do not wash with me. The legislation is in place. Collectors will be paying 10% GST on the items they collect from overseas (including shipping) as well as import charges on some items, just as those buying any low-cost item through eBay will be paying GST on their purchases.
I’m sorry, but if the GST is affecting your ability to add to your “collection” then just scale back the accumulation of your collection items. There are people who source what I would call “essential items” who also now have to pay GST . . . . . but we haven’t been overloaded with their whinging and whining.
Maybe it is because those suffering genuine hardship or horrible circumstance have a better grasp of the real injustices in this world and just don’t waste time wallowing in self pity and blame gaming.
