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....

[davewil1964]

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@rc250668 wrote:
hi all i have spoken to ebay regarding thius tax if you have an abn then you need to update your account with it.
however if you a private seller like me and you are an australian seller then we will pay 10% of the commision/fees that ebay charge us a monthly basis and this cant be claimed back.
so if you have a monthly bill of say $500 for ebay commissions then you will pay an additional $50 in gst/tax that is not claimable or another way to look at it is if you allow 11% of your ebay fees from tomorrow 1st july it should be abot the same end charge.
you do not pay an additional 10% of the sale price of the goods
this is what i a
have been told and i have also asked if ebay can make it clear to all regarding this.
if you are an overseas seller then you will be charged 10% as i understand it.
the netfix tax name is due to foxtel challenging netlix to make the local and overseas companies on the same playing field !
regards

rob

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It is claimable as a business expense.

[brerrabbit585]

tippy, the store might be cancelled but not expire until the end of the month (either the 30th or the 15th, depending on their billing cycle).

I do have to agree though - why someone would complain about an extra 8c fee on a handful of items when they're paying $24.95 a month for a store they don't need is beyond me. I think the relevant term is straining at a gnat while swallowing a camel.

But ebay is full of stores with less than 10 listings in them, and lots of people are still paying for their stores several years after they sold their last item. Why would ebay worry about keeping fees low when so many are happy to pay extra for things they don't need?

[onekiwi0]

referring to message 211 merfar, and I apologise in advance if I've missed a post that clarifies this.

can someone please tell me even though there was some announcement saying the netflix tax doesnt take effect apart from digital / overseas purchases until 1 July 2018 - Ebay australia is still implementing 10% gst charge to both fvf and postage from tommorrow 1 july? 2017  (apart from theose sellers with an abn?).

thank you

[go-tazz]

This explains what it is and how it applies.

http://sellercentre.ebay.com.au/content/gst-fees-ebaycomau

The updated rates table shows who is charged and at what percentage:

http://sellercentre.ebay.com.au/sites/default/files/complete_fee_table_AU_0717.pdf

It will be charged on eBay FVF's,(eg: the 9.9% they charge on the item price and postage cost).

It will/can not be charged on postage labels as that already includes GST.

[go-tazz]

This explains what it is and how it applies.

http://sellercentre.ebay.com.au/content/gst-fees-ebaycomau

The updated rates table shows who is charged and at what percentage:

http://sellercentre.ebay.com.au/sites/default/files/complete_fee_table_AU_0717.pdf

It will be charged on eBay FVF's,(eg: the 9.9% they charge on the item price and postage cost).

It will/can not be charged on postage labels as that already includes GST.

[onekiwi0]

Thank you go tazz I saw the table when you initally posted and its very helpful.

I was just confused and hopeful that it had been delayed for ebay sellers after reading this article 

https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2017/06/the-netflix-tax-has-been-postponed-to-2018/

[lyndal1838]

The Netflix Tax is definitely going ahead from tomorrow, the 1st July.2017.

The tax that has been postponed till next July is the tax on all overseas purchases, not just those purchases over $1000 in value.

They are different taxes.

[onekiwi0]

got it.  thank you all

[character_parties_aus]

If ebays fees were 5% the GST would be 10%. If ebays fees were 10 million percent the GST would be 10%. What's this .5% thing??

This whole fee increase thing is hilarious, the amount of confusion there is and blame on ebay etc. It's 10% GST on fees. Get an ABN register for GST and claim it back which will take you about 10 minutes and problem solved. You can submit your BAS online in about 2 minutes and if you have an accounting program like MYOB run the report to get the figures to submit it in less time than that.

FWIW the GST on ebay fees is a 100% fair tax in my opinion. Why shouldnt the government charge tax on a service levied in Australia used by Australians that in any event can be claimed back by anyone registered for GST as a tax input credit? You pay GST on the freight component of ebay already this is no different to that. Tax on a taxable supply.

[digital*ghost]

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@character_parties_aus wrote:

If ebays fees were 5% the GST would be 10%. If ebays fees were 10 million percent the GST would be 10%. What's this .5% thing??

This whole fee increase thing is hilarious, the amount of confusion there is and blame on ebay etc. It's 10% GST on fees. Get an ABN register for GST and claim it back which will take you about 10 minutes and problem solved. You can submit your BAS online in about 2 minutes and if you have an accounting program like MYOB run the report to get the figures to submit it in less time than that.

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Registering for GSThas far greater implications than simply avoiding paying it on eBay fees, and would be very unwise for any business that is not currently registered and hasn't researched properly what those implications will be. For one, saving say an extra 50c in fees on a $50 item now that GST is applicable might sound good, but it means that $50 price has to include GST for the buyer, to then be passed on to the government, if the seller can't afford to absorb that, it will mean increasing the price from something like $50.50 (to account for the fee increase) to $55.00 to allow for the actual GST that will be payable. 

Calculating it as a feee increase is understandable and a simplified way to view the changes, I suggested it earlier as an attempt to eliminate some confusion, though I agree the anger at eBay is misdirected. It's like when you buy a pack of Tim Tams - no one thinks about the price of Tim Tams being $3.00 and the 30c GST being a separate fee or charge, the price of Tim Tams is just $3.30 (arbitrary 'close enough' price for the sake of simplicity). So it's simple enough to view eBay's fees and the added GST as a whole charge, worked out as a percentage of sale price. 

This means, for anyone not registered for GST, to work out the total amount payable, it's easier to work out the total percentage applicable.

Examples of previous and current percentages are as follows:

9.9% - 10.9%

9.5% - 10.45%

8.55% - 9.4% 

8% - 8.8%

6% - 6.6%

Well, you get the idea. 

[character_parties_aus]

You are a very astute poster but to be honest I got bored to death after the first sentence. I charge GST I pay GST and I pay my taxes. If you charge GST pay GST and pay your taxes its straight forward. If you don't then you probably should be. It's as simple as that.