Is it a loophole?

[donnashuggy]

Good idea or not to lower the threshold???  Changes to the GST for online international purchases seems to be getting a push today in the media.

[donnashuggy]

I think spot has hit the nail on the head, my teenage kids will still be able to shop cheaper overseas.

But, I guess the tax collected will be of some benefit - just administering it will be a challenge.

Not sure how it will work if they do it but I know as a seller on ebay that buyers do not like to pay duty and are often unaware of it - especially in the uk.

[amber-eyed-girl]

The taxes collected will vary depending on what you are buying, the customs website shows the rates for specific categories.

The payment will need to be collected by Australia Post, or handled by a customs broker, who willll charge a fee.

The charges will be, in many cases, a great deal more than purely the GST.

Before the 1000$ threshold, a 220$ dress from the U.S. cost 79$ to release from Australia Post, with GST and other tax.

That same dress was 2365$ in David Jones. I know that may be an extreme example, but I have not forgotten it.

People will still buy overseas, as long as the variety of goods is still so much more diverse, and still much, much cheaper.

Most overseas purchases I make are items unavailable here...

There are greater issues with the abandonment of local retail than saving GST on online shopping.

[donnashuggy]

Oh I agree with this There are greater issues with the abandonment of local retail than saving GST on online shopping

As if it is going to make a huge difference to their sales - I don't think so.

[acacia_pycnantha]

There has been a $1,000 import threshold (over which we pay GST and import duties and the clearance broker's fees) for many years now, and due to inflation that threshold figure should be increased not decreased as our today's $1,000 can but much less than our 1980's $1,000 ever could.

[amber-eyed-girl]

When I bought that dress, the threshold was 50$, it was just before the current 1000$ was introduced.

Parcels were selected apparently at random for the duty, with only a few taxed if it was directly mailed to you, and not handled by a broker.

If the idea is to tax every single parcel, which it is, Customs and Australia Post will be struggling to the point of extreme duress.

Australia Post can barely handle what they do now, let alone being full time Tax collectors.

Staff will need to be hired, which is not what they would want, so changes to the system will not work well at all for staff or customers.

[acacia_pycnantha]

You can do the paper-work yourself but it's so darn complicated that a broker is needed to get it right.

There's not much admin time spent by Australia Post, they just won't release the item until you front up with the necessary paper-work and the necessary cash.

[acacia_pycnantha]

What it means to me is that I can't buy stuff on ebay from overseas sellers if the item costs me more than $1,000 postage included, because of the extra charges.

Ebay needs to be on our side on this one cos it's limiting their sales.

[amber-eyed-girl]

It takes them time to find each parcel ... that will be the issue too. If it is for everything. My local post office hates the idea, they are under a lot of pressure.

[cherples]

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@**meep** wrote:

I think it is a good idea....It should encourage Australian buyers to shop here rather than overseas.  It won't be reviewed until March next year I think ??

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Gerry Harvey and friends don't seem to understand that not all online shopping is from OS suppliers. 

He should "fix" his business model instead of trying to "fix" the tax system to suit himself.

[spotweldersfriend]

Yes the government will rake in a bit if cash donna,but Gerry still won't get many more customers.In my case its also a matter of getting what I want quickly and not having to wait up to 8 weeks for it to be available.I pretty well just buy music and the discs I purchase OS are not in the racks here,and they are much dearer than the same product bought overseas even when the postage is included.Why does a cd OS cost $16,and the same dusc here is at least double that?