Govt' wants a new tax on on-line purchases

[billdan]

Our Nanny Govt' wants to introduce a new online shopping tax of up to $7 per parcel to cover the costs of X-Ray screening. This is on top of the 10% GST that will applied.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-22/online-shopping-tax-being-considered-by-government/9574920

Now we the consumer never asked for this screening, so if it hurts the govt' financially, just stop doing it.

[dannat]

can't they just slug the drug delears by using the proceeds of crime funds - its most likly their fault they have to scan parcels anyway

[Shano592]

I can see DHL, Fedex and the like picking up a lot of new business.

In a lot of cases, the difference between them and Post is only a few dollars, but their finishing is a much better experience, on the whole.

[LewisM]

The Yanks tried this under the Obama Mis-administration - didn't last long (and we the EXPORTER to the USA had to pay it!!!!!!!!!)

Another hair brained 5 years behind the rest of the world in-hindsight Australian "government" plan. The more we kowtow (being polite - pornographic reference comes to mind) to the Yanks the more we emulate our masters. Julie Bishop is the prime show-pony in this respect.

[Wavytone]

Well... if it cuts the number of guns shipped in parts, illicit drugs, cuts the trade in endangered species (eggs, reptiles and birds) not to mention hazardous nasty stuff in parcels starting with anthrax or parcel bombs... I'd have to say yes, small price to pay. The shipping for the small parcel I received today via FedEx cost $40 so frankly i don't see why not and its not harebrained; far from it.

I'm actually quite surprised it hasn't dawned on the IS nutters to send nasty parcels to random addresses en-mass, via the international post. Mass-marketting CD's full of millions of valid names and addresses are easily obtained thanks to the likes of Brylar OnLine.

Would be quite effective at paralysing a lot of online trade.

[luka]

Just bought some temperature/humidity sensors from AliExpress for $2 shipped. I would have definitely thought about it twice if I had to pay the new tax which is about 350% of the value of the sensors.

On the other hand, the increase in the overseas prices would benefit the Australian retailers who buy in bulk, especially for the smaller (cheaper) items.

[The_bluester]

Still a case in point is that US prices for a lot of things are so much lower than here that even with a new fee and GST it is nearly irrelevant.

I spent a grand AUD yesterday on parts for my racecar from the US, Including freight. The best I could do for exactly the same thing from an Aus retailer was $1350. And that is one of the smaller markups on car stuff I have seen.

[Malcolm]

So Border Force is going to post a letter to me advising that they are holding my parcel until I pay the $7:00? Seriously? How is this going to be collected?

[The_bluester]

Probably expect the retailers to collect it for them as well.

[The Mekon]

What a bunch of selfish people we have here. So other taxpayers should fork out so that those who choose to buy items from overseas (and have the money to do so) can get their stuff cheap?.

And the answer to the above is for the PO to hold all parcels, just advise that there is a parcel waiting, and for you to front the PO and pay.

[GrahamL]

Multi scanning technology that I've been around these days is incredibly fast and cheap (excludeing set up ) and I'm pretty sure thats what they would introduce ,if it isn't in use already , Several dollars plus per item isnt just about recouping the cost its an earner plain and simple.

[LewisM]

So, using that logic, people that work - since Auspost is open 9-5 - need to find time to collect the items. This also further exacerbates logistics by having the PO to sort "duty to pay" and not dutiable (local parcels)...which will mean post rates will increase again to offset the extra time and effort involved at the sorting centre...

Snowball effect. We all pay irrespective and retrospectively.

[Malcolm]

Not selfish at all! Valid question on how this levy/tarriff would be collected. I would not mind paying the $5-$7 if it's still cheaper than buying from OfficeJerks or Hardly Normal.

[glend]

I wonder what affect Donald Trump's just announced 25% tariff on Chinese tech related (maybe including optics) products will have on all the astro gear: scopes, mounts, etc now manufactured in China. This may have more impact, certainly in the US market, in the longer run than a per box levy. If lower production volumes in China drive up unit prices, our costs could rise, although this will take years to play out.

[Imme]

Agreed!

$7 per item, 300 items per hour scanned (at a guess)......that’s $2,100 per hour......operator gets say $50....where does the rest go?

[Wavytone]

Quite likely. The reality for austpost is that sales of stamps (and letters) have tanked.

Austpost however is probably the only organisation with a physical shopfront in every postcode - not even banks manage that, so there’s certainly an issue around funding that in a sustainable way long term.

I still think they need to get their head around holding parcels for collection on say Saturday mornings instead of wasting the couriers time attempting to deliver to homes on weekdays when 90% of the time no one is home.

A model like FedEx of having a depot servicing a larger area might be ok if they can reliably deliver as well as FedEx does, but that’s unlikely in Austposts case, many seem to be incompetent.

[GrahamL]

These things scan multiple items at once at fairly high speed 2000/3000 hr wouldnt be impossible, the database is only looking for things that shouldn't be there most items just pass straight through things that dont get looked at by a person and if needed added or fine tuned to the info already stored
Aside maintenance and the makers remote access from whatever country they are in ,people dont have much input.

[Tropo-Bob]

Pensions, hospitals, defense, roads, education .... its actually nowhere near enough to allow these to be funded in the way that I would like. (PS: I am not a pensioner).

[N1]

Try post #13

[N1]

John you have a valid point but I'm not sure that people buy stuff overseas to save money do so because they have the money to do so :P

[doppler]

From what I gather this revenue is to be used to help pay for all of the border security not just mail screening, mail screening is the low cost part.
Ebay etc mail order is booming and a cash cow for the govt to milk. 40 million small parcels a year is a very tempting tax source.

[PCH]

A lot of the stuff people order is just cheap bits and pieces from China costing one or two dollars delivered. So these attract a $7 fee too?

Bloody scandalous imo!

[Camelopardalis]

The UK has had such a farcical charge for years...and their equivalent of GST (VAT) at 20% is charged on all packages valued above £18, about $30.

It certainly discourages overseas shopping, as not only does it add cost but it delays arrival of items from outside the EU (for now!).

The difference is that the market economy there is substantially larger and buying locally is often preferable.

Here in Australia...it’s just a grab for cash, as what could possibly make Oz Post any slower :lol:

[LewisM]

It's the Gerry Harvey cry all over again. Stop the imports so that the local dealers can charge what they wish.

[billdan]

Trump is an idiot, the Chinese will still be getting their asking price for the goods supplied. The US consumer will be paying the 25% tariff.

Why, because for decades the USA owes trillions of $$$ and can't pay it back. In fact every 3 months they have to beg Congress so they can borrow some more.

So this Trump strategy is a smokescreen, making it look tough on China, when in fact it is an effort to get the US consumer to help pay off the USA debt.

[LewisM]

Yep. $13 TRILLION USD and counting owed to China - a COMMUNIST nation...the very anti-ideal post-WW2 premise the USA built itself on. It's laughable.

The USA and Europe still believe sanctions and embargoes work. They've done it to Russia, North Korea and now China (more). Fact is, they DON'T work. Russian trade deals with China have sky rocketed and will continue so, as Russia will supply China with all the natural gas and other resources it needs (seeing idiotic Europe has cut themselves off from that and now - bada bing - the USA will need to supply Europe :lol:). Not to mention the space exploration plans together.

The USA is SO antiquated and backward thinking. As one dinosaur leaves the NSA/CIA/Congress/Treasury, he trains his replacement with the doctrine and ideology of 50 years ago. They cannot learn and adapt, and it seems they never will while they think they dominate the globe. Pure arrogance intertwined with a xenophobic mindset.

[xelasnave]

And yet that report on all the tax avoidance by big companies, and I cant even remember the name of said report, goes in the too hard basket I guess...but then no one probably even noticed it as there were more important issues at the time like dual citizenship of polies...which took our focus off the report...you can always find something important hidden when they rant about the trivial etc. I recall one coal company with a 30 billion turnover paid only 50 mill tax I wonder if that has been looked at...
alex
alex

[Peter Ward]

Indeed just another tax. We already have income tax, GST, stamp duty, luxury car tax (for the car industry that doesn't exist) , excise, customs entry fee and security fees....plus our postage costs are amongst the highest in the world.

What to leave? Our passports are also the most expensive.

We are mugs. If the user pays for all levels of government service you have to wonder what exactly they do with our income tax which was supposed to cover all of the above. :shrug:

P.S.
I forgot...despite billion dollar revenue, Google paid less tax that yours truly last year....and the government wants to give them a tax cut :screwy:

[AndrewJ]

Gday Alex

Of course it has, and its too hard to get.
Just remember its easier to take 5$ from 100 million people on small transactions, vs 100million from 5 companies, who will fight tooth and nail to prevent it.
This is part of why tap and go etc makes banks/govts so much money.
Every transaction is quick/convenient so you dont mind/notice the small fees taken EVERY TIME.
Andrew

[xelasnave]

Why not a turnover tax?
I think Pauline had it in her platform and I often wonder if that was the real concern with her and not her racism...
alex

[LewisM]

Precisely. I also have NEVER felt as oppressed as when I re-enter Australia from overseas with the VERY prominent government signs, warnings, etc. Oh, and the "Informing our choices" BS.

But yet to some this planned "Security" tax is something that needs to be paid? How and why, considering that we already pay through the neck at the Post Office? It is something that our taxes should already pay for. $7 per item imported is outrageous and I doubt a single Australian will stand for it. What next, they'll charge us to have presents from overseas friends and relatives sent to us, as I am SURE they will claim now that as a loophole.

It won't work, and it can't, and it should not even be thought about in the first place. Tax Gerry Harvey more, chase the big dollar businesses, not regular Joe Blow wanting to bring in some cheap stuff for the kids.

It's not only idiotic, it's insulting. So much for the free and open market democracy we live in - the one becoming more and more restrictive and encumbered every day.

From informing our choices to limiting our choices.

[AndrewJ]

Maybe part of it is due to this
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Postal_Union
I remember reading a few years back that when mail flow between countries was relatively equal, this system worked.
Now that we buy by email and all "physical" deliveries come from overseas, the system at our end just bleeds.
ie ask yourself how you can get "free" delivery on ridiculously lowly priced items from China?????
someone has to pay somewhere, so i guess they are making it a bit more transparent.

Andrew

[doppler]

And then on the other side you get ridiculously high "flat rate" postage from European merchants. I think TS Optics has a flat rate of 36 euro (about $50 au) even for the smallest item. The sad part here is that even with the high postage costs many things are still much cheaper than the Au suppliers.

[AndrewJ]

Gday Rick
Dont disagree, but i suspect if dedicated couriers are used, then prices get charged accordingly. If they send small items and rely on the international mail agreements to get cheap delivery in the receiving country, then the costs get put on Aus Post, and they no longer will accept it.
Nothing is "free"
Andrew
ps it would be nice if overseas doctors, lawyers, dentists, accountants could also come here unrestricted and undercut the "protected" locals.
Sure it would be caveat emptor, but it would certainly be an interesting exercise in true global competion.

[PCH]

I read somewhere that the Chinese government subsidises their businesses specifically so that they can sell so cheaply to the world without postage costs hindering them. So they get a huge benefit whilst clogging up Aus post who I don't think get a penny for carting all the crap round!

[Camelopardalis]

Indeed, it’s interesting what counts for common good these days...

[gary]

Hi Paul,

It's called dumping and China is guilty off it.

And its strategic purpose goes way beyond benefiting Chinese companies.

It is designed to ensure that countries like Australia don't ever think of
manufacturing anything for themselves ever again.

Decades ago, I took part in a Defence industry study. The question was, in
times of adversity, such as if Australia was subjected to a naval blockade,
could the nation possibly manufacture the things it would strategically
need?

During times of war, a country repurposes equipment and factories to produce
the types of things it needs to defend itself.

Everyone loves cheap stuff. But when you add up the cost of manufacturing
many of the low-priced items that one can buy out of China these days
by mail order, it just doesn't add up.

Plus when you add the low-cost or free postage, the economics is such
that the item was delivered here below the manufacturer's cost.

Those who are not across the real cost of materials, manufacturing
and shipping might be duped it is all part of the miracle of modern
China, of low wages and economies of scale.

It is not.

I have some packages from China here delivered by an Australia
Post postman on a motorbike but franked with zero Yuan postage
paid stickers.

In order to do that requires the cooperation of the Chinese government itself.

It's China's way of ensuring that a country like Australia, as a nation state,
never manufactures anything again. It is designed to ensure that we have
no plastic injection moulding capability, no factories that can fabricate parts
in metal, and so on, and that we fall behind in the advances in materials
and manufacturing processes.

It's the Opium War all over and we have become addicted to all this
impossibly cheap stuff.

Heaven forbid if we ever have to pay the real price for it.