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2012/15: Internet shopping: should more online purchases be taxed?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right:On January 4, 2011, the ABC ran a news report looking at the campaign being run by major retailers to have the GST imposed on goods worth less than $1000 being imported into Australia through online purchases. The report also considers opposition to these demands. If you cannot see this clip, it will be because video is blocked by your network. To view the clip, access from home or from a public library, or from another network which allows viewing of video clips.
What they said...
'Consumers enjoy shopping online because it offers them choice, convenience and often discounts far beyond 10%'
Bill Shorten, the Australian Assistant Treasurer
'We've always been of the view that there's not a level playing field if offshore retailers can escape the goods and services tax and import duties'
Bernie Brookes, Myers chief executive
The issue at a glance
On September 6, 2012, the results of a federal taskforce study were released. The study supports lowering the $1000 threshold for the value of imported goods on which the GST can be imposed. The study claims that the cost of collecting the tax revenue may not be as high as previously suggested by a Productivity Commission report.
The study into the GST threshold by the Low Value Parcel Processing Taskforce was released by the Assistant Treasurer, David Bradbury.
The Australian Retailers Association has greeted the report enthusiastically. It and other large Australian retailers have been campaigning for several years to have all or most of those goods imported into Australia as online purchases attract the GST. They have argued that the difficulties that the Australian retail sector is currently experiencing are in large part the result of the unfair competition from untaxed goods purchased online from overseas suppliers.
The consumer magazine, Choice, and other consumer groups have challenged this view. They have argued that there are fundamental problems with the retailing price structure in Australia which result in the Australian consumer paying more. While this continues to be the case, they claim, Australians will continue to shop online for lower priced goods.