Aussies now charged GST on all imported goods

[Fuzz AI]

As of 1st July 2018, all goods purchased and imported from overseas into Australia will be charged GST. Yes, our lovely, hard working politicians have decided we're not taxed enough as is, and have crashed into our last tax free haven. All businesses have been directed to collect GST for goods under AUD$1000, and those over AUD$1000 will be collected at the border.

And don't think you can avoid the GST by going through a third party shipper (ie send to a US company like Shipito or Reship, who then sends to Aus). Yes, they have thought about that too. All third party shippers have been advised to collect that GST before sending to Australia.

As with many things decided by our Govt, this was done to benefit small businesses to stay competitive in a global market. Doesn't matter that a lot of the things I buy from overseas are not available in Australia in the first place. And even if the goods are available here, they are often overpriced. Example, I just bought a laptop (from the manufacturer, not a reseller) that is approx $400 more expensive here in Australia than it is in the US (taking into account the highest US sales tax and also the exchange rate), despite both of them being built and shipped from Asia.

I don't buy everything online and from overseas, mostly stuff that I can't get here, with the occasional doodad or trinket from Asia. And whilst I won't begrudge a local small business owner from trying to make a quid, I just finding it really annoying that the no GST for goods under AUD$1000 threshold has been abolished. It just means that I won't be buying from overseas as often... and won't necessarily mean I will be spending that saved money here in Aus. And let's face it, is it really the small business owner crying foul about people buying from overseas and skipping out on the GST?

This thread is more for our Aussie members, but everyone can still chime in.

 

[Duxnutz]

What a mess. How are they treating gifts? 

[gweilgi]

This would not be so bad if overseas retailers would deduct their own version of GST when exporting; most do not do so, though, at least European merchants.  So buying a gadget in the UK will now see me pay 10% GST on top of the price which already includes the 20% VAT ... a tax on a tax.  

What I am actually waiting for is a clampdown on travellers bringing goods back into the country.  I can see myself having to produce receipts and bills of sale at Australian Customs to prove that my shoes, my phone, my laptop and anything else of value was bought and properly taxed in Australia.  

As for small merchants, who cares about those?  Certainly not anyone in the big two parties, that's for sure....

[Shaunster]

The UK loves a tax on a tax as well, we also already pay VAT on imports, and the scandalous £8 handling fee.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[SokaKiel]

3 hours ago, gweilgi said:

What I am actually waiting for is a clampdown on travellers bringing goods back into the country.  I can see myself having to produce receipts and bills of sale at Australian Customs to prove that my shoes, my phone, my laptop and anything else of value was bought and properly taxed in Australia.

Unfortunately this is already strictly enforced in Germany! Maximum value for all the products bought overseas is 430€ per adult!

I’ve been frisked by customs before, they went straight into the settings on my Iphone to check the serial number or something else and knew it was bought in the US. Luckily I had enough work related stuff on it that they let it pass as a company phone. And for some reason missed the Breitling on my wrist, bought a while back in the US too?

If you can’t provide the original german invoice you will be fined on the spot! No idea what they expect but generally you’re expected to carry around all the paperwork with you...

But you’ll get reimbursed if fined and you can later produce the bill from home.

Utter stupid stuff, so many more problems in Germany to tackle these days!

[Fuzz AI]

5 hours ago, Duxnutz said:

What a mess. How are they treating gifts? 

Assessed like any other goods imported into Australia. And don't think just putting $1 as the value of the goods.

This is from the Dept of Home Affairs website:

Note: When goods are assessed for value, we may request evidence from you as to the value of the goods. In this case, you will receive a letter requesting you to provide evidence to substantiate the declared value.

If the declared value of your goods is accepted by us, your goods will be delivered to you by Australia Post.

If the declared value of your goods is not accepted by us, you will be sent a First Notice by Australia Post.

[Freddo]

8 hours ago, Fuzz said:

As of 1st July 2018, all goods purchased and imported from overseas into Australia will be charged GST. Yes, our lovely, hard working politicians have decided we're not taxed enough as is, and have crashed into our last tax free haven. All businesses have been directed to collect GST for goods under AUD$1000, and those over AUD$1000 will be collected at the border.

And don't think you can avoid the GST by going through a third party shipper (ie send to a US company like Shipito or Reship, who then sends to Aus). Yes, they have thought about that too. All third party shippers have been advised to collect that GST before sending to Australia.

As with many things decided by our Govt, this was done to benefit small businesses to stay competitive in a global market. Doesn't matter that a lot of the things I buy from overseas are not available in Australia in the first place. And even if the goods are available here, they are often overpriced. Example, I just bought a laptop (from the manufacturer, not a reseller) that is approx $400 more expensive here in Australia than it is in the US (taking into account the highest US sales tax and also the exchange rate), despite both of them being built and shipped from Asia.

I don't buy everything online and from overseas, mostly stuff that I can't get here, with the occasional doodad or trinket from Asia. And whilst I won't begrudge a local small business owner from trying to make a quid, I just finding it really annoying that the no GST for goods under AUD$1000 threshold has been abolished. It just means that I won't be buying from overseas as often... and won't necessarily mean I will be spending that saved money here in Aus. And let's face it, is it really the small business owner crying foul about people buying from overseas and skipping out on the GST?

This thread is more for our Aussie members, but everyone can still chime in.

 

Don't quote me if I get it wrong, haven't had chance to test it yet.  From my understanding the supplier pays GST.  For someone sell less than $75k to Australia, they don't need to register and not charge GST.

[Squarehead]

3 hours ago, Shaunster said:

The UK loves a tax on a tax as well, we also already pay VAT on imports, and the scandalous £8 handling fee.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

So does Canada.Politicians should be thrown in jail for theft and mismanaging money

[GasGuy82]

Further proof the government considers your income to be their money, not yours. This is prevalent worldwide.

[Fuzz AI]

4 hours ago, Freddo said:

Don't quote me if I get it wrong, haven't had chance to test it yet.  From my understanding the supplier pays GST.  For someone sell less than $75k to Australia, they don't need to register and not charge GST.

The supplier collects GST that is charged to the customer. As an overseas supplier, you would not have paid any Australia duties or GST on the goods prior to sale, as they have not crossed over the border. You may, however, have paid said duties and taxes in your own country. An Australian customer would be charged the GST on the goods by the overseas supplier, for shipping importing into Australia. The supplier would then in turn record the GST on sales and pay the Aus Tax Office the appropriate amount.

Yes, a business that has a GST turnover of less than AUD$75k in a 12 month period, does not have to register for GST. Selling platforms like eBay or Amazon will collect the GST on the seller's behalf.

[Freddo]

6 hours ago, Fuzz said:

The supplier collects GST that is charged to the customer. As an overseas supplier, you would not have paid any Australia duties or GST on the goods prior to sale, as they have not crossed over the border. You may, however, have paid said duties and taxes in your own country. An Australian customer would be charged the GST on the goods by the overseas supplier, for shipping importing into Australia. The supplier would then in turn record the GST on sales and pay the Aus Tax Office the appropriate amount.

Yes, a business that has a GST turnover of less than AUD$75k in a 12 month period, does not have to register for GST. Selling platforms like eBay or Amazon will collect the GST on the seller's behalf.

Good info.  Just to confirm my understanding, if the supplier GST turnover less than $75k and selling on their own website (not through eBay/Amazon), do we pay GST?

[maxcjs0101]

Time for a change of a govt, no?

While there are pros to having GST, we (Malaysia) just scrapped this last month and with the new govt’s prudent(hopefully) spending, there is a chance we could do away with it, at least for now.

[Freddo]

2 hours ago, maxcjs0101 said:

Time for a change of a govt, no?

While there are pros to having GST, we (Malaysia) just scrapped this last month and with the new govt’s prudent(hopefully) spending, there is a chance we could do away with it, at least for now.

I would prefer the Govt get rid of heavy tax on cigars than the GST.

[blank]

And what's to stop the oversea supplier from keeping the gst?

How can Gov possible police this?

They can't pull up all packages now how they going to do it with the millions more packages valued under $1k?

 

[Fuzz AI]

3 hours ago, Freddo said:

Good info.  Just to confirm my understanding, if the supplier GST turnover less than $75k and selling on their own website (not through eBay/Amazon), do we pay GST?

If an overseas supplier has a turnover of less than AUD$75k to Australian customers, then they do not need to register for GST or charge the Australian customer the extra 10%. The threshold is not just for physical goods, but also services and digital products.

[Fuzz AI]

2 hours ago, dimi68 said:

And what's to stop the oversea supplier from keeping the gst?

How can Gov possible police this?

They can't pull up all packages now how they going to do it with the millions more packages valued under $1k?

 

1. Absolutely nothing

2. With extreme difficulty

3. They can't

[El Presidente]

16 minutes ago, Fuzz said:

If an overseas supplier has a turnover of less than AUD$75k to Australian customers, then they do not need to register for GST or charge the Australian customer the extra 10%. The threshold is not just for physical goods, but also services and digital products.

My understanding is that it would still be technically pulled by Australian Customs on the way in and charged to you

I am looking forward to seeing how the Cluster F plays out come September. 

[Fuzz AI]

14 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

My understanding is that it would still be technically pulled by Australian Customs on the way in and charged to you

I am looking forward to seeing how the Cluster F plays out come September. 

Potentially, yes. Nothing stops the munties from doing that. If they catch a parcel and it has an invoice (not a tax invoice), then they could charge you GST for that. Also, courier companies are obliged to flag any parcels with a declared value above AUD$1000.

[Trevor2118]

With eBay, they add 10% to the price and charge your account, which they collect either by your linked CC or PayPal account.  Ebay then pays the amount to the Australian Government.  The seller does not charge the GST.

[Fuzz AI]

22 minutes ago, Trevor2118 said:

With eBay, they add 10% to the price and charge your account, which they collect either by your linked CC or PayPal account.  Ebay then pays the amount to the Australian Government.  The seller does not charge the GST.

Correct. Shopping portals like eBay and Amazon will handle the GST collection.

[fundadores]

Actually I think the ebay global shipping program only collects taxes. And the whole shipping program is a big AVOID for me since they use really slow shipping methods at least in europe

[Auspaul]

Aliexpress are going to collect the GST have brought things such as torches comes marked  as gift and $2 value on the packet instead of the $15 $20 actual purchase price. Would be good to have a change from our 2 major parties   they pander to minorities are both too politically correct and only care about getting back in at the next election.