Is eBay Paying its Fair Share of Australian Tax?

[waddingtonfirstaid]

Australian sellers are paying more in fees than ever before yet, if the eBay invoices are anything to go by, it seems the money we pay to eBay goes off shore to eBay International Helvetiastrasse 15/17 3005 Bern Switzerland. How is it that eBay runs it's commercial operations from an Australian au server, operates as if it's an Australian company, yet it doesn't use Australian Tax Invoices and presumably doesn't pay the same tax like the rest of us? Last financial year, eBay cleared over $7,000,000 profit per day. Is it not right that they should pay Australian taxes at the same rate we pay given we're all doing business in Australia? I would have thought this was especially important when billing Australians for goods and services supplied in Australia.

[putney32]

if you want to deal with an Australian Company, paying Australian Taxes,  fine, do it.

if you want to deal with an overseas corporation, paying taxes to their relevant government(s), , then really it is no business of yours where their tax Dollar or Euro goes.

pretty simple really

[oztradingcards]

That's clearly not true, a foreign owned company doing business in Australia still has tax liabilities, the issues here is are EBAY avoiding their tax obligations here. Tax avoidance by Multi national companies has been put on the political agenda by many countries around the world at the moment and will become an even hotter issue in Australia in the time ahead

[wishuponastarcelebrationsandgifts]

That's clearly not true, a foreign owned company doing business in Australia still has tax liabilities, the issues here is are EBAY avoiding their tax obligations here. Tax avoidance by Multi national companies has been put on the political agenda by many countries around the world at the moment and will become an even hotter issue in Australia in the time ahead

You need to be specific about what tax liabilities - Income Tax, GST, FBT, CGT etc etc and specify what sections of the Act(s) they are breaching.

Tax mininimisation, tax avoidance and tax evasion are not the same thing. It is not illegal to minimise your tax obligations by adopting legal strategies to do so. It is illegal to evade tax.

I am not saying that ebay are or aren't complying with their tax obilgations. I haven't examined their legal structure or audited them. What I am saying is that you need to be very specific as to what exactly they are doing that is illegal. To apply the theory that they are "operating" in Australia, ergo are legally liable to "pay tax" here, would necessarily mean that anyone that has sold to an overseas buyer is obligated to comply with the tax laws of the buyer's origin.

Similary individuals may have foreign investment income which may be taxed in Australia. They are not necessarily required to lodge tax returns in multiple countries for their various income streams.

Where legislative loopholes exist the legislation needs to be reviewed to ensure that it is consistent with its intended purpose. Enforcement strategies then need to be implemented to ensure compliance. Appropriate deterrants such as penalties need to be applied to those breaching the legislation. Basing a legal argument on ones moral or ethical principles with respect to tax is pointless.

[polocross58]

It used to be common knowledge in the forums that ebay does not pay tax in Australia

Time it once again became common knowledge

A few politicians stood up against eBay.  They didn't want it to be allowed to trade in Oz until tax and other issues had been thoroughly discussed and investigated

but as usual, those jerks pretending to be 'our representatives' folded -- probably after receipt of a stuffed brown paper bag

No.  Ebay doesn't pay a cent in tax and pushes supposed consumer-protection legislation out of the way.  And the joke protective bodies just nod and wave ebay through

Which is why when Paypal was imposed as a mandatory payment method, hundreds of Aussie ebayers were protesting (on behalf of all you guys) and were begging consumer protection and banking ombudsmen to do their job.  The forums were censored.  Long term, ethical ebayers were banned.  And today we have this sterile, dobber-filled joke forum where everyone tippy-toes around, afraid to voice their opinions for fear of being 'reported' by -------- to the almighty authoritarian dictator to whom you pay a fortune in fees for next to nothing in return

By the way, wonder how many pieces of legislation Labor is pushing through right now in the lead-up to Parliament recess and Abbott letting them all slide through

[polocross58]

I mean, if 'our governmental representives' were doing even a quarter of the job we pay them to do --------------------- ebay wouldn't be getting away with jamming hooks into our OWN computers ..... 'cookies' that are impervious to three hours of cookie-clearing

would they

[polocross58]

Australian sellers are paying more in fees than ever before yet, if the eBay invoices are anything to go by, it seems the money we pay to eBay goes off shore to eBay International Helvetiastrasse 15/17 3005 Bern Switzerland.

How is it that eBay runs it's commercial operations from an Australian au server, operates as if it's an Australian company, yet it doesn't use Australian Tax Invoices and presumably doesn't pay the same tax like the rest of us?

Last financial year, eBay cleared over $7,000,000 profit per day. Is it not right that they should pay Australian taxes at the same rate we pay given we're all doing business in Australia?

I would have thought this was especially important when billing Australians for goods and services supplied in Australia.

Well SAID, 'weducational'

as usual !!   🙂

[polocross58]

No explanations from our supposed (actually 'puppet') government, either

No MPs or the PM explaining why ebay tells the Aussie government and people where to go and what they must do

All that MONEY in lost taxes which should be pouring back into the Aussie community

Now, just imagine if a mining company operated that way in this country

Just imagine the hue and cry and drama-school performances at question-time and in the media if ebay were, say, a mining company

[polocross58]

Anyone suspecting now that a deal was struck

whereby ebay could operate in this country without paying a cent in tax

?

Wonder what that deal might have been ?

Gee, maybe ebay flourished some papers to show how greatly postal services had profited

once ebay took hold in other countries 

?

Think that might have been the clincher for the goons posing as our government ?

And did Australia Post boom as result of all those packages and parcels whizzing back and forth across Australia, 24/7 ?

Has postage increased pretty much in line with ebay fee etc. increases ?

Mmmm   huh ?

The laugh now is

ebay and Aust. Post have killed each other

via their mutual greed

[lyndal1838]

For heavens sake, how do you know ebay is not meeting it's tax obligations according to Australian law.  You only think you know and thinking is not proof.

[thirdworldsweatshop]

"For heavens sake, how do you know ebay is not meeting it's tax obligations according to Australian law.  You only think you know and thinking is not proof."

No lyndal1838  It is you who think you know that polocross58 think they know that ebay is not meeting their tax obligations. In fact polocross58 know this and it is you who think you know that they do not know....I think.

I think I know that Ebay dont pay tax in Australia as they are not based in Australia and are considered a cyber company. Its not that the australia government would not like to tax them but they have no jurisdiction. So I think lyndal1838 are correct in thinking they know that polocross58 think they know that ebay are not paying the tax they are obliged to because ebay think they know that they are not oblidged to pay tax to Australia and I think that the Australian Government think they know that. I think.