Renewed Push for GST on Online Purchases in Australia

As you’ll probably be aware if you’re still waiting for those damn Christmas presents to arrive, there’s the odd bit of frustration associated with online shopping from overseas, but that frustration is usually trumped by the massively cheaper prices you’ll pay.
The Australian government is well aware of this, and are currently looking to close what they call a “loophole” on online shopping, making consumers pay 10% GST for goods purchased from overseas, just as they would in Australia.
The Sydney Morning Herald report that Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has flagged online shopping as an area of interest, saying that overseas purchasing costs Australian jobs. 
“It makes sense to have a serious look at this from a jobs perspective because the retailers are such big employers,” he said, adding that “if other comparable jurisdictions can deal with this, why can’t we?”
The GST currently applies to Australians who make purchases of more than $1000 from overseas.
The Australian Retailers Association have rallied behind the Assistant Treasurer’s comments, but some say that other factors are more pressing when it comes to retail employment in Australia.
NSW Liberal MP Craig Kelly says that Australia’s retail rents, which are higher than in comparable countries like the United States, make “operating and labour costs more expensive,” thus hurting the retail sector.
Ominously, Kelly also blamed high wages for hurting Aussie retail, saying: “The last thing we want to do is cut people’s wages but we also don’t want a situation where people aren’t being employed because of penalty rates.”
The Herald failed to mention whether or not Kelly was stroking a white cat in his underground lair as he said this.
Many on the Liberal backbench have asked Prime Minister Tony Abbott to take a look at “job killing” penalty rates, although prior to the last election, he promised not to touch them, and he has so far been true to his word.

Photo: Leon Neal via Getty Images

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