Do AU’s Wealthy deserve the tax breaks in our latest Online-GST grab: TAX-FREE Only for BIG PURCHASES (over $1,000)?

IVI on 03/07/2018 - 04:43
Last edited 03/07/2018 - 05:01

Some hobbyist groups were once able to Import their hobby equipment UP TO $1,000 (Customs-)Duty-Free.

That seemed fair, as Only those who could Afford more expensive equipment paid Duty on it, if imported.

Who paid the Duty? Those importing > $1,000

———

Now, let’s look at the new Online GST grab…

Here, the inequality sign is reversed:

Only those buying Less than $1,000 OnLine have the (dubious) privilege of paying GST on purchases.

Who pays the OnLine-GST for their purchases? Those buying < $1,000

———

So, why not apply the same Gov’t logic to taxing our earnings?
(I’d happily pay tax on Only the 1st $1,000 of my wages/salary)

———

Is the new OnLine GST grab FAIR?

Please respond to our Poll (below), thanks.

Poll Options

  • 1
    Big Buyers DESERVE their OnLine-GST tax breaks! (They incentivize Getting Rich)
  • 4
    EVERYONE should pay the OnLine-GST (Maybe AU can pay down its debt & pay less interest)
  • 0
    I’m going to Buy+Sell+Save on Fee- / GST-Free sites like GumTree.com.au OR in FaceBook
  • 23
    I disagree with all of the above, & I’ll give my opinion in a Comment (above)
General Discussion Online GST

Comments

  • whytd on 03/07/2018 - 05:03
    +19

    ….what?

    • HighAndDry on 03/07/2018 - 09:35
      +7

      OP's been a member since 2010 so they can't be less than 8yo. And yet… this.

      • Scrooge McDuck on 03/07/2018 - 22:00

        We obviously need higher taxes on whatever OP has been smoking.

    • IVI on 05/07/2018 - 11:42

      Not What… How much you buy.

  • whooah1979 on 03/07/2018 - 05:07
    +6

    Another post whining about gst?

    Gst on imports is here to stay. The sooner we accept it the sooner we may more on.

    • IVI on 05/07/2018 - 11:53

      Not about GST… About who AVOIDS paying GST.

      If I make a $1,001 purchase, I don't have to pay GST.
      If its value were $1,000, I would.

      Who can afford to make "huge" (eg, $1,001 & up) purchases?

      Not most folks, so… They'll be paying GST,
      when they buy online.

      Their investment in eqt, I'net, & upskilling for online buying USED TO be rewarded with "GST relief"

      Now, it's those who can More Easily Afford to pay GST,
      who get the GST relief, ie, when buying over $1,000

      Where is fairness?

  • mskeggs on 03/07/2018 - 06:49
    +10

    Private purchases over $1000 still attract GST.

    • IVI on 05/07/2018 - 11:55

      Only "Small Purchases" (up to $1,000) attract GST,
      from what the gov't site said.

      • mskeggs on 05/07/2018 - 12:01

        Purchases under $1000 attract GST that is collected by the vendor if they transact over $75,000 of business in Australia.
        Purchases over $1000 attract GST that is collected by customs, same as it has always been.

        There is actually a small risk if you buy multiple small items that add up to an order over $1000 that you will pay twice, unless the vendor provides an invoice showing GST was collected.

        • IVI on 05/07/2018 - 12:17

          Ummmm… Oh, well… at least eBay offers us
          a week (fr 1st July) of GST relief, if you
          buy $50 up.

          Odd, tho, it works only Once / vendor.

          The 5% offer may do same.

  • bobbified on 03/07/2018 - 07:06
    +6

    Errr.. what inequality??

    It has nothing to do with rich or poor. The same rules apply to EVERYONE for purchases that are over AND under $1000!

    Before you go any further, read this:
    https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/trav/impo/buyi

    Were you at the Trump protests? lol

  • EightImmortals on 03/07/2018 - 08:10
    +10

    Option #5: NOBODY should be paying GST on goods and services purchased from businesses not physically operating in Australia.

    • IVI on 05/07/2018 - 12:00

      Elsewhere, if you buy from a State, which has No
      vendor (in same chain, corp., etc.), you paid
      No sales tax - independent of whether you bought
      Heaps or a $1 item.

      That encourages trade between states (eg, when
      local shops charge exorbitant prices for things
      you can buy interstate.

      (This may have changed, since last did that.)

  • Sofie519 on 03/07/2018 - 08:30

    Ive always had the opinion of zero income tax and advocated on taxing spending, ownership imports and enterprise .. ideally of course

    • EightImmortals on 03/07/2018 - 08:44

      Yup, there have a been a few similar ideas floated over the years but the they have always been quashed by the establishment as (I suspect) the current system is more about keeping you on struggle street than it is about the fair and efficient running of the country. From some research a few years back I discovered than traditionally when authorities have reduced mandatory taxes they actually end up getting more tax money in as people have more to spend..and will usually spend it. By pinching wages the authority is more or less capped in their tax receipts as the only way to increase them is for people to be getting payrises all the time OR they invent news ways of taxation like this current nonsense. And if you think they will EVER run out of devious ways to impose more tax then you will be sadly disappointed. :)

  • Ocker on 03/07/2018 - 08:31
    +2

    I suggest you get your facts correct - online purchases over $1.000 DO (and always have) incurred GST

    • [Deactivated] on 03/07/2018 - 11:52

      I think the joke is that purchases over $1,000 should be GST free as another form of tax relief for the rich.

    • IVI on 05/07/2018 - 12:03

      Nu?

      Then why does the gov't site even Mention
      "Smaller Purchases"?

      Ha!

      ;~)

  • JimmyF on 03/07/2018 - 08:56
    +1

    Who pays the OnLine-GST for their purchases? Those buying < $1,000

    Correct, and also people who buy over $1000.

    The difference is, under $1000 the retailer has to collect it, over $1000 and the 'old system' catches it and they collect GST PLUS any import duties as it goes through customs.

    So don't worry, no one is missing out and the rich are not getting a free 'ride' either.

  • boomramada on 03/07/2018 - 09:09
    +1

    Poll Options
    [999999+] Poll option should be remove from Ozb

    • retiredfeline on 03/07/2018 - 10:52
      +1

      Poll Options

      […] OP should stop posting nonsense and go back to sleep

  • [Deactivated] on 03/07/2018 - 09:15

    There has always been tax >$1,000. The new rules only affect <$1,000 because they weren't taxed previously.

    And it has nothing to do with "inequality". Equality would be the rich paying the same dollar figure in tax. Of course, no one is advocating for that but the polar opposite of the argument is equally ridiculous.

    High income earners are already paying more as a dollar figure and they are not entitled to many of the handouts.

    • EightImmortals on 03/07/2018 - 11:23
      +1

      Yes I could never understand the inequity in income tax percentages, at least not outside of some kind of Marxist 'wealth distribution' ideology (or a 'screw the rich people!' one. :) ) If we had a flat income tax rate amongst all wage earners then we would ALL be paying the same rate of tax which would be much fairer. A person earning 500K per year would be paying HEAPS more tax than the person earning 50K per year if they were both paying, say 10% income tax. I simply cannot see the justification of having higher tax brackets (except for purposes of government gouging). Maybe someone can try and explain that to me? (Not that I'm likely to be convinced but at least I might see the logic in it. )

      • HighAndDry on 03/07/2018 - 11:29
        +1

        You pretty much got all the arguments:

        • Screw the rich people;
        • Marxist wealth redistribution (because they can't possibly deserve to be that rich!); and
        • Government gouging (only the rich can be gouged without worries for the govt).

        The last reason is practicality. Basically all first world countries' income tax revenues are hugely disproportionally funded by the top 1-5% of income earners paying exorbitant rates of tax. If you reduced their top marginal tax rates from (for example) 35% to a flat 10%…. the country would go broke overnight. You would have to basically raise the flat tax rate for everyone to something like 20%. And then you'd have poor people… well, crying poor.

        • EightImmortals on 03/07/2018 - 11:39

          20% would be better than the 33% they already pay? People under the threshold of 18K would still pay no IC.

        • [Deactivated] on 03/07/2018 - 11:43
          +1

          And the poor will always claim oppresion and inequality of opportunity. In this country, there is equal oppurtunity and it is hard to argue its existence.

          It's never the fault of the poor that they're poor. It is always a magical force cast by the ruling echelon to preserve the current heirarchy.

          So tax the rich, they say. It is only fair, they say. When the rich take their business elsewhere it is unpatriotic, they say.

        • EightImmortals on 03/07/2018 - 11:51
          +1

          @tshow: Yeah I agree up to a point. There is a 'mentality' that keeps a lot of people poor and if they are born into one of those families or demographics then they do have to do a lot of 'personal' work to overcome that. But as you say it IS possible. On the other hand there is also a lot of policy that seems to be to be preserving the status quo and making it much much harder for people who DO want to improve their lot in life (tertiary education fees for example, ours was free) and many other things.

          But I see where you are coming from, the problem is that the country is ruled by a class of people for whom votes (and taxes) are everything so they will listen to the whingers even though a lot of it (not all of it) is baseless. Not sure of answer apart from active conscious thought in the majority of the population and I gave up on seeing that decades ago. :)

        • HighAndDry on 03/07/2018 - 12:05
          +1

          @EightImmortals: Yeah, but the people paying effective rates of tax below 20% (which is a HUGE proportion of people - basically all 'poor'people) would whine non-stop and vote out the government the next day. Might even be rioting in the streets.

          Honestly people here have absolutely NO IDEA how good they have it. Uni fees? If you're smart enough (and the bar isn't high), you get to take advantage of HECS which is effectively an interest free, indefinite term, no minimum repayment loan. You only repay if you're making enough to be able to repay - it's effectively no different than free tertiary education except for providing some incentive to be productive with that education. And it's a bloody good education too - see how many students willingly pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for this education from overseas.

    • IVI on 05/07/2018 - 12:06

      I beg to differ.

      Many "take" GST relief by claim'g back GST payments
      for items Not used to make their products, provide
      their service, or keep their business in operation.

  • Skramit on 03/07/2018 - 09:41
    +4

    This guy is just trolling. Please stahhp.

    • Ocker on 03/07/2018 - 10:50
      +1

      Some people just have too much free time on their hands

      • [Deactivated] on 03/07/2018 - 17:47

        Some people have have something else on their hands when they have too much free time.

  • 0FoxGiven on 03/07/2018 - 10:56
    +1

    Lol wut?

  • TheBilly on 03/07/2018 - 14:35

    To be honest I dont care, an additional 10% is not going to stop me pursuing my hobbies. Ive also rarely purchased online from overseas. I always get a good online price, go into a store and purchase it there with a bit of negotiation. I usually just say, "Hey I want this, will you take, "x" - and 9 times out of 10 they agree. I usually offer 10% to 20% more than an online price depending on item, for the convenience of having to view it and get it straight away. However on the flip side I really don't spend much either. So those odd occasions I pay more, dont really matter.

    • IVI on 05/07/2018 - 12:10

      Buying (by those who do not intend to import heaps of them later) "samples" online seem to be contributing to our / the World's pollution, IMO.

  • AncientWisdom on 03/07/2018 - 16:24

    This troll post made me realise they should just impose GST on ALL purchases made overseas and thus we won't have to deal with customs on purchases over $1000 (as GST would have already been paid).

    • HighAndDry on 03/07/2018 - 16:25

      Customs isn't GST.

      GST is a sales tax - it's charged on things (or services) being sold.

      Customs is an import/export thing - it's charged on things being imported.

      • TheBilly on 03/07/2018 - 17:37

        Customs Service is an institution that enforces GST and screens products to ensure that the necessary legal duties are being paid on market values.

        • HighAndDry on 03/07/2018 - 17:41

          Customs Service is the government body that deals with imports and exports. Customs charges is the duties charged on certain imports and exports. That they're also now been saddled with enforcing GST collection is incidental.

          Because even without GST, basically all your purchases still have to go through customs.

      • AncientWisdom on 05/07/2018 - 12:41

        Ah yes good point. I usually buy stuff that is exempt from duty so forgot about that. Cheers.

    • [Deactivated] on 03/07/2018 - 17:42

      While they're at it, they should make all crime illegal so we wouldn't have to deal with criminals (as crime is already outlawed).

  • samcro on 03/07/2018 - 18:31

    I'd give an opinion if I understood the question…

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