Respectable Members

Our good for nothing, who you know, is going to introduce tax on virtually all on-line purchasers. These nuts are going to lower the GST threshold. It is to be in line with the other close to bankrupt countries.

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/te...d-in-proposed-gst-changes-20120906-25hff.html

What a lucky country Australia is - for those nuts, only!

Thank-you.

 

I foresee a lot of $29 watches being bought!

 

Respectable Member gatorcpa

Very likely the article may be a little misleading.

Many Australians buy things on-line from the US because virtually everything is so much cheaper in your country than here. My son gets all his text-books from Amazon.

The price of new (maybe vintage ones, too) Omega and Rolex in Sydney is insane. As a result, I have friends who purchase brand-name watches from HK, Singapore and also, the US.

Thank-you.

 

NJ has a line on the state income tax return to list out of state purchases so they can collect taxes they believe they're due.

 

We did have that whole thing about taxes way back in the late 1700's you know.

 

Not only do the states tax items at the rate they want, local counties and cities add to it. Sales tax in Los Angeles county is at or close to 8.75%, other areas of the state, it is about 7.5 or 8.0%

 

Just caught on to this thread. Interesting.

Of course the NSW minister is a state Liberal and so anything he may bang on about is hardly likely to penetrate the cochlears of the Federal Labor minister (most likely the Treasurer) or scintillate other big wigs in a minority government, particularly with an election due in November next year.....but the lobby for what some people call a "level playing field for retail" is getting stronger and stronger, not the least because, arguably, buying on-line overseas is tantamount to an export of jobs in retail.

I think ultimately there will be GST on imported goods purchased through the internet, but it may take a while. One reason why there has been such an abnormal hike in internet purchasing by Australians is the high Australian dollar and perceived value for money on internet purchases. Another reason is the tradition of gouging by overseas and local retail chains - from cars to books and everywhere in between. An IKEA product made in Asia sells for about 90% more in Australia than it does in the States, for example. What a lot of companies here have done is not pass on the exchange rate windfalls, but pocketed them, and when the Aussie dollar does a Swan dive, as it inevitably will, two things will most likely happen: local retail will have to absorb the higher wholesale costs within their margins because price hikes would further depress the local market and Australians will stop buying so much overseas because OS goods will not be so cheap. When the dollars is back to a reasonable 70 cents to USD we may well see an abrupt reversal of trends.

There is also a growing lobby to curb the gouging by international and local retail - long may it continue. Perhaps a confluence of pressures may take effect and we get better value for our spend here.

Still, I think we should make hay while the sun shines, but, I'm with the 60-odd percent who believe GST should be applicable and so I'm not going to whinge too much if it is eventually introduced. I rather like the idea of a robust and competitive local retail sector and the choice it offers as opposed to shopping precincts that look like ghost towns and multitudes of service workers competing in a dramatically shrinking job market. I dont think the money I've save is worth that scenario.

Cheers

Desmond

 

Respectable Member mondodec

What you have posted is indeed very logic and true.

What I have witnessed, there is an authority or quasi-government body to oversee that players play on a level field. If they do not, they will be brought into line.

This particular body or quasi-government authority is super-efficient when confronting the local players but when they are faced with the big players like the oil companies, the banks and some multinational companies, this particular enforcement unit keep both their eyes shut. There is always the smoke but no fire.

This body is akin to a barking dog that does not bite because it does not have any teeth.

Thank-you.