GST changes

[GrahamL]

Was reading a little on the upcoming changes to gst after july 1 , whats it mean for an importer of sub $1000 items to they pay and pass on the charge to us or is it only direct imports from OS ?

[FlashDrive]

I'd imagine they would.... other wise it effects their bottom line.

Col...

[GrahamL]

Yeah I'm not sure Col in that the(aus) vendors we buy from sell to us at a gst inclusive price so the tax is already levied ? ,, I have a few lower cost items I have to buy OS soon as I cant get them here so sooner rather than later might be the case , i read an comment from a few that ALL prices will increase and i'm still not sure thats right .

[billdan]

When Joe Hockey was treasurer he tried to get Amazon and Ebay in the U.S to collect GST for Australia, they basically showed him the door.

[FlashDrive]

Yeah ... see what you mean...but anything up to and including 1K will now attract another 10% if imported .... well that's how I understand it.

if you buy an item for say ...$500.00 from o/seas, you will have to pay another $50.00 to have the privilege of having it.

under the ' old ' scheme ( which still exits ) we wouldn't have to pay any GST at all

I'VE ALSO HEARD A RUMOR THAT THE COST OF THE ITEM PLUS THE POSTAGE:eyepop: IS ADDED TOGETHER AND THAT IS WHAT THEY WILL CHARGE THE GST ON.....

Col...

[The_bluester]

That is no rumor. It was the case too for items over $1000 and the freight was included in the cost test to apply the GST in the first place.

[FlashDrive]

This is going to make or break a sale from o/seas for many people ..... for me anyway.

But that ' TAK ' addict in Canberra, it probably won't matter to him....:P

Col...

[Marke]

I would like to know how the govt is collecting the 10% as it stands you pay it to customs directly but if some Chinese seller sells you an item and adds the 10% to it then they have to declare it to Aus and the govt here is supposed to collect from them ? I cant see this working seriously.

[LewisM]

Yeah, Matt will shrug it off.

[Kal]

There was a stink over this a year ago when they postponed the implementation by a year. Bausically the Australian government wanted online sites that facilitate the sales (such as ebay/amazon/aliababa) to collect the 10% GST, while those companies basically said "you can get stuffed" back to the aussie government.


At the end of the day the requirement of these foreign companies to collect the tax will be either ignored, or they will simply disable Australian overseas purchases from their sites, which is an easier option for them.

[FlashDrive]

Yeah ... I had another bloke in mind.....:rofl:

[Kal]

I should also note that we have had the 10% GST on digital goods implemented since July 2017. I still don't see online software selling platforms like steam charging or collecting any GST despite the requirement...


Edit - just remembered that my netflix costs did go up last year because of this 10% GST on digital products, so some companies complied.

[AndrewJ]

I wonder how long it will be before the govt asks the banks to tack 10% tax on any transfers that involve an overseas destination, on the basis you are going to spend it and as such should be taxed :-)


Andrew

[FlashDrive]

Good Point ... I use PayPal ... I'll see what they eventually do.

[GrahamL]

That seems a likely option , the other being customs mails out a duty payable invoice on everything based on a declared value .


I think the under $1000 probably was a threshold, collecting revenue under that became to costly and time consuming , hopefully sensible wins the day but i have some doubts :D

[Kev11]

Overseas suppliers have to register for GST in a similar manner to domestic firms. I have bought one piece of on-line software (originating in the USA) from a supply point in Eire. The invoice quoted their Australian ATO registration number. How this is could be enforced on all suppliers I do not know.

[luka]

I don't think it applies to all overseas suppliers, only to those who sell over $75,000 to AU per year (or something like that). The ones who are under that amount, just like the small AU suppliers, do not have to charge GST.

To the question how to enforce it... let me attempt a guess.
Each package already has its value declared and all packages are already scanned at the customs. From this info it is easy to find out how much each overseas company is selling to AU. If the supplier is over the limit then their packages can be stopped at the border either until the buyer pays the GST or until the supplier eventually starts collecting the GST.

Or in other words:
Phase 1: Piss off everybody with a plan that has not been thought thoroughly
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: Profit

[el_draco]

So, does anybody know whether Turncoats extortion tax applies to stuff that is purchased after July 1 or arrives in Au after July 1?

[Kal]

The change in law applies the tax to the sale of the item, so it would apply to new purchases on and after July 1st


https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Large-business/In-detail/Business-bulletins/Articles/GST-on-low-value-imported-goods-delayed-until-1-July-2018/

[el_draco]

That would be useful... about to completely wreck observing for the Southern half of Tassie... if it could be further wrecked ;)

[glend]

I noticed today that Amazon has announced it will no longer ship to Australia from 1 July. They seem to be suggesting that you can still access Amazon products through Amazon.com.au which will charge GST at point of sale. Whether the full range of Amazon products will be supported this way is unclear. Some astro rerailers in the US do sell through Amazon and have shipped to Australia in the past.

With just 30 days to go till the GST change applies to purchases of less than $1000, it is time to order stuff you might want now.

I would like to know what Teleskop-Express intends to do post 1 July, as I buy from them. For big stuff, over the threshold, they can get UPS to collect but for small stuff it is still a question to be answered.

[el_draco]

Wont "Hardly bloody normal" et al be pleased. We'll I've boycotted them for years so it's just one more reason to live a minimalist existence. Useless bloody government on all levels. Who were the morons that voted them in? :shrug:

[rrussell1962]

I think that only overseas vendors who are above the GST threshold are required to register and collect GST on purchases under $1000 from 1 July, but I don't follow these matters too closely these days.

[OzStarGazer]

Strictly speaking the changes only apply to companies with an annual turnover over $75,000, so nothing will change with small companies or somebody who is selling their personal belongings privately. Of course eBay monitors messages, so we cannot just ask a small seller to send us an invoice outside eBay.

[glend]

And just who has to document that to whom? Sounds like another scam for Custom Brokers to attach a fee. You can bet that the people at Customs are not going to be interested in proving the origin of a package.

[LewisM]

I haven't bothered to read the new regs etc, but I assume the GST will be on everything. So, if say my OS inlaws send my kids a birthday present, we aren't aware about it, and then get hit GST to receive it at the post office....

This is "fair" exactly how? Idiotic Turncoatbullsh!t yet again.

[OzStarGazer]

From what I have heard companies with an annual turnover over $75,000 have to register for GST and are responsible for items under $1000 and have to apply GST at checkout, while Customs are responsible for items over $1000. Pretty weird. If anything I think it would be easier to apply GST at checkout to all items, not only those under $1000.
It is also certainly possible that some companies with an annual turnover over $75,000 won't register for GST and think to get away with it.
Some companies don't even know how to do it. Amazon has already blocked Aussies, eBay is still working on it and said the change implies a lot of other changes, so a private company with an annual turnover over $75,000 probably won't even know how to do it.
iHerb also told me that they are "working on it".
At any rate I am trying to buy whatever I liked on my watch list from overseas now. I am kissing goodbye to the solar scope I intended to buy in the near future, at least for the moment. :(

[OzStarGazer]

From an old article: "If passed, Australia would be the first country to require foreign sellers and marketplaces to collect and remit GST on any item, no matter how small."
This will also affect winning auctions for items overseas, as other bidders don't have to pay an additional 10%, so they can place higher bids.

https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/amazon-ebay-etsy-and-alibaba-say-online-retailers-wont-comply-with-gst-change-20170420-gvorgv.html

Is there a chance this will reverted one day?

[rrussell1962]

Exactly, in terms of documentation, the way the Act is phrased overseas sellers who have more than $75K of Australian sales each year should register for GST in Australia. There is a simplified registration and payment procedure they can use. The unanswered questions are 1. Do the overseas sellers even know about this ridiculous law? 2. How will every parcel arriving in Australia be monitored? 3. What happens if the law is just ignored?