Possible lowering of GST threshold on parcels

[griffin]

I have stop there otherwise I'm going to get into a political rant and violate the board's rules.

You can talk about politics, because it affects us all and impacts on our daily lives... as long as it is rational (identify the problem you have and give reasonable alternatives that the politicians are ignoring for self-serving reasons)... and if we don't talk about it, we the "common people" won't fully understand the process and specifics enough to improve things or get enough people support it (without ending up with a mob mentality of misguided opinions).
The rules just recommend not talking about political parties, or any other organisation that people grow up with or long-term loyalty to, as it can lead to dismissing or excusing poor decisions that are proven issues against that organisation... and can prompt others to target those people of a particular organisation for fun or sport.
Keeping it rational has a better chance of drawing in people from those organisations than making fun of them.

[Defcon]

This is pretty sad news, but with the declining dollar it has become much less attractive to purchase overseas orders anyway. Not saying lowering the threshold to $20 is right. I have been doing most of my shopping at retail, because it really works out cheaper or about the same for the stuff I want anyway. If and when a lower threshold comes into affect, I would actually be more worried about local retail prices going up, thus negating the point of the lower threshold to make an even playing field. The result is higher prices for everyone, for the sake of increasing government revenue
Small businesses will be paying tax on importing even if they have small parcels, when they sell the item add gst as well, prices will go up and still be uncompetitive. This lowering of the threshold will net all the ones avoiding tax, to bad for individuals who just want to be hobby sellers.
Since Im not a small business Im just having an opinion, but dont see the benefits if there are any

[MayzaPrime]

Is this tax also going to happen on 2nd hand items? I have bought alot of Transformers from Transformerland and eBay, but I will be damned if I am going to pay GST on a 2nd hand item

[DarkHyren]

The way I understand it is that anything not marked as a gift (and even then I'm unsure) counts as imported merchandise and thus is subject to import taxes.
I'm with Mayza, no way am I paying tax on second hand goods or for that matter items that aren't or haven't been sold in this country.

[Demonac]

Am I too cynical to see this as a way to take a little more from those who aren't rich (let's face it, it isn't the people at the top of the pyramid that would be wasting their time importing stuff that is <$1000) to balance out tax cuts that mostly benefit those at the upper end?

[BigTransformerTrev]

Am I too cynical to see this as a way to take a little more from those who aren't rich (let's face it, it isn't the people at the top of the pyramid that would be wasting their time importing stuff that is <$1000) to balance out tax cuts that mostly benefit those at the upper end?

That's a damn good point! Instead of lowering it so the tax is effecting poor sods buying a $21 dollar item, how about they raise revenue by collecting a higher GST rate on people buying $20000+ items. Maybe the people importing sports cars and artworks could chip in a bit more instead of the average joe trying to save a couple of bucks by buying online.

I have no choice but to buy online as there aren't a lot of retail shops in the bush so this is going to hit people in rural areas extra hard - heck a lot of Aussie retailers don't even deliver to the bush or if they do they charge more in postage than it costs to get the item from America or Japan! Bet the pollies in the capitals didn't think of us since if you don't live in a big city you don't matter

[Demonac]

Let me grab my soapbox...
GST is an unfair tax that affects lower incomes more than higher incomes, as those in the lower brackets spend a greater percentage of their income than those that have higher incomes.

[Magnus]

Public works and services have to be funded somehow...

Anyway, I'm not happy about the prospect of such a low threshold either. I would've thought something like $500 would be more reasonable.

As I recall, the Productivity Commission did produce a report in 2012 concluding that it would be too expensive - costing more than revenue raised - to implement. I wonder what's changed?

That's a damn good point! Instead of lowering it so the tax is effecting poor sods buying a $21 dollar item, how about they raise revenue by collecting a higher GST rate on people buying $20000+ items. Maybe the people importing sports cars and artworks could chip in a bit more instead of the average joe trying to save a couple of bucks by buying online.

I'm pretty sure those things are already subject to import duties. Cars above a certain value are also subject to Luxury Car Tax.