Amazon will STOP shipping products to Australia from overseas starting in July

[GURPS]

Amazon's primary site, Amazon.com, will be inaccessible in Australia, with buyers diverted to the local store, which has been heavily criticised for its higher prices and lesser variety.

The GST amendment lowers the current minimum spend for GST inclusion from $1000 to $1 in response to backlash from local retailers.

The move, which attempts to level the playing field between local and international retailers, has posed issues to Amazon's worldwide selling scheme.

The 10 per cent GST will be imposed from the July 1 onwards.


Amazon will STOP shipping products to Australia from overseas starting in July - so what does it mean for you?

https://home.kpmg.com/xx/en/home/in...ow-value-imported-goods-20-february-2017.html

The Australian Government introduced the Treasury Laws Amendment (GST Low Value Goods) Bill 2017, on 16 February 2017, to impose goods and services tax (GST) on supplies of low value imported goods to Australian consumers.

This is to be achieved through taxing supplies of low value imported goods (being goods valued at $1,000 or less) where they are supplied to Australian consumers. In some situations, operators of electronic marketplaces and entities that assist consumers acquire goods from overseas (referred to as re-deliverers) are deemed to make the supply and thus liable to account for GST.

The Bill is viewed by the Government as a revenue protection measure in response to the increase in online purchases. It is also a response to intense lobbying by Australian retailers who desired a level playing field with online retailers. However, these measures introduce a new bias against small overseas businesses, which would not otherwise be liable for GST on a standalone basis, where they make a supply through a marketplace.

So Australia has increased the taxes on goods sold online and Imported ... bully for them

 

[GURPS]

Government urged to scrap online GST changes

THE Government wants to “hoodwink” shoppers with a Great Big New Tax on online shopping that will do nothing to address high retail prices in Australia.


THE Turnbull Government is attempting to “hoodwink” the Australian public with a great big new tax on online shopping that will do nothing to address high retail prices in Australia, economists have argued.

Under new laws slated to come into effect from July 1, overseas businesses with an annual turnover of $75,000 or more will be required to register with the ATO to collect GST on all goods sold, including purchases under the current low-value threshold of $1000.

Major retailers including Harvey Norman and Premier Investments have long lobbied for the change, saying it will level the playing field against the likes of Amazon, Asos and eBay.

In his speech to Parliament, Treasurer Scott Morrison said the changes “are about ensuring that Australian businesses, particularly small retailers, do not continue to be unfairly disadvantaged by the current GST exemption that applies to imports of low-value goods”.

But in a submission to a Senate inquiry into the changes, RMIT economists Sinclair Davidson and Chris Berg have highlighted the “absurdity” of the move, saying it will “raise very little revenue and will be expensive and complex to administer”.