Online GST screws Aussie shoppers

[Neferti]

You should be paying GST, to even the playing field with domestic businesses who import your consumer products for you. Amazon is just being a little bitch. I bet they'll be back once they think their stunt has run its course.

If you think a global retailer is about to open themselves up to be an international tax collector for exported items for every single country, you've got alot to learn about how business is done across borders. Yeah...not going to happen.

Although I can see them arms-length investing in a US reshipper for an easy 10% profit increase on the Amazon sell price that the govt has provided the market research for. Easy money.

Not true IQ,
I have a yearly subscription to Norton Internet Security.
They are now charging me 10% GST.
Microsoft is doing the same with my Microsoft Office subscription.

That explains it.

[IQS.RLOW]

You should be paying GST, to even the playing field with domestic businesses who import your consumer products for you. Amazon is just being a little bitch. I bet they'll be back once they think their stunt has run its course.

If you think a global retailer is about to open themselves up to be an international tax collector for exported items for every single country, you've got alot to learn about how business is done across borders. Yeah...not going to happen.

Although I can see them arms-length investing in a US reshipper for an easy 10% profit increase on the Amazon sell price that the govt has provided the market research for. Easy money.

Not true IQ,
I have a yearly subscription to Norton Internet Security.
They are now charging me 10% GST.
Microsoft is doing the same with my Microsoft Office subscription.

Single company selling software solutions vs global retail platform for multiple vendors shipping from different regions.
Chalk and cheese.

Amazon has simply given Australia what it asked for.
You can buy from the AU entity amazon.com.au and pay your GST just don't whinge when you don't get the same variety as a marketplace with 100M-300M buyers.

The govt should be working on a method of collecting GST efficiently at import for retail purchases.
Anything else is a sloppily put-together short cut that will do nothing but isolate and remove access to Australians for the most competitive global retail markets.

[Bobby]

You should be paying GST, to even the playing field with domestic businesses who import your consumer products for you. Amazon is just being a little bitch. I bet they'll be back once they think their stunt has run its course.

If you think a global retailer is about to open themselves up to be an international tax collector for exported items for every single country, you've got alot to learn about how business is done across borders. Yeah...not going to happen.

Although I can see them arms-length investing in a US reshipper for an easy 10% profit increase on the Amazon sell price that the govt has provided the market research for. Easy money.

Not true IQ,
I have a yearly subscription to Norton Internet Security.
They are now charging me 10% GST.
Microsoft is doing the same with my Microsoft Office subscription.

Single company selling software solutions vs global retail platform for multiple vendors shipping from different regions.
Chalk and cheese.

Amazon has simply given Australia what it asked for.
You can buy from the AU entity amazon.com.au and pay your GST just don't whinge when you don't get the same variety as a marketplace with 100M-300M buyers.

The govt should be working on a method of collecting GST efficiently at import for retail purchases.
Anything else is a sloppily put-together short cut that will do nothing but isolate and remove access to Australians for the most competitive global retail markets.

Hi IQ,
Still - I don't believe it's fair.
I don't know why Norton agreed to it.
There was no way the Govt. could have controlled a software company in another country that I'm aware of.

[Neferti]

I remember, way back in around 1996, when I was playing Adventure Games. I was desperate to get the latest and the Aussie bricks and mortar stores were waiting for deliveries so I checked out Amazon and the like. They would NOT ship to Australia. Customs also had some fees for "importing" computer games.

Oh, and everyone who whines about the 10% GST should realise that before that was law, some stuff (TVs, cars and so forth) were considered LUXURIES and attracted 33% tax. The introduction of the GST bought all into line.

Besides, even with the 10% GST most stuff you buy online from the USA is a hell of a lot cheaper than what you would pay in Oz. If you want it, pay for it and stop whining.

[Black Orchid]

It's not a matter of "pay for it and stop whining" we are going to be lumped with an inferior site with far less products which will be much more expensive than the mere 10%.

The prices we pay here for clothing, utilities, food, electronics etc is up there at the top of the most expensive on the planet.

You may think that is fine. I don't. Why should we have to pay more than other countries for everything we need/use? Give me a good explanation and I will accept it.

Australia sells gas to Japan yet their end users pay only a third of what we do for our gas. I cannot think of any reasonable excuse as to why we are continually ripped off. Aussies need to educate themselves instead of just being complacent sheep.

[Bobby]

It's not a matter of "pay for it and stop whining" we are going to be lumped with an inferior site with far less products which will be much more expensive than the mere 10%.

The prices we pay here for clothing, utilities, food, electronics etc is up there at the top of the most expensive on the planet.

You may think that is fine. I don't. Why should we have to pay more than other countries for everything we need/use? Give me a good explanation and I will accept it.

Australia sells gas to Japan yet their end users pay only a third of what we do for our gas. I cannot think of any reasonable excuse as to why we are continually ripped off. Aussies need to educate themselves instead of just being complacent sheep.

It's not only that,
you can't even buy many items here in Australia.
Ebay has 1000s of times the number of different items you can buy e.g.
they told me at a motor mower shop that they couldn't fix my
carby on my whipper snipper - weed eater.
I got one - brand new out of China for $22 + $8 postage.
The new carby worked perfectly.

[Black Orchid]

I buy lots of things from overseas at a quarter of the price and am not ashamed to do so. Thanks to our pathetic governments on both sides I live in a city full of immigrants on welfare which is absolutely now bursting at the seams and full of crime and violence, housing prices (because of foreign ownership) have gone ridiculously through the roof so why not?

I had to buy a side mirror for my car a couple of weeks ago. $70 plus here. Stuff that. I got one for $11 on Ebay with free postage and it fitted perfectly.

[Bobby]

I buy lots of things from overseas at a quarter of the price and am not ashamed to do so. Thanks to our pathetic governments on both sides I live in a city full of immigrants on welfare which is absolutely now bursting at the seams and full of crime and violence, housing prices (because of foreign ownership) have gone ridiculously through the roof so why not?

I had to buy a side mirror for my car a couple of weeks ago. $70 plus here. Stuff that. I got one for $11 on Ebay with free postage and it fitted perfectly.

Good on you,
I go to the car wreckers if I need a part like that.
It's cheap & available the same day.

[Neferti]

It's not a matter of "pay for it and stop whining" we are going to be lumped with an inferior site with far less products which will be much more expensive than the mere 10%.

I have no clue what people pay via Amazon. I have never bought anything from there. Everything there is "made in Taiwan" anyway, isn't it?

The prices we pay here for clothing, utilities, food, electronics etc is up there at the top of the most expensive on the planet.

That is because of the Unions and the high wages ... Average (minimum) hourly rate for an adult is about $20 ... what does the UK/USA pay?

You may think that is fine. I don't. Why should we have to pay more than other countries for everything we need/use? Give me a good explanation and I will accept it.

"They" are trying to make Australia the same as "other countries" by importing the crud. STOP IMMIGRATION! NOW!!!

Australia sells gas to Japan yet their end users pay only a third of what we do for our gas. I cannot think of any reasonable excuse as to why we are continually ripped off. Aussies need to educate themselves instead of just being complacent sheep.

Japan is a tiny island with about 130 million people. They work their butts off and get paid a lot less than the average Aussie "worker".

Just about every country pays people less per week than we pay for arseholes to sit on their arse and sponge off the taxpayer.

I really do not know what Australia can do ...

[Black Orchid]

NO! Everything on Amazon is NOT made in Taiwan!

in the US you can buy the latest high definition flat screen 60 inch TVs for $250. Food is a fraction of what we pay here. Whole chickens on sale are 99 cents - $1.29. 36 slice pizzas $6. Bag of 20 fresh very LARGE prawns $18. The list goes on and on and on and on. I am talking normal America not LA or NY which are comparable to Sydney.

IT makes no difference how hard the Japanese work or what they are paid. We EXPORT our gas to Japan and their end consumers pay ONE THIRD of what we pay for our own gas here. Think about it.